GEORGETOWN (CMC) — The main Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Saturday said it had renewed a call for a live stream of the recount of ballots in the disputed March 2 regional and general elections, but was not confident that the request would be entertained.

Former attorney general and PPP/C candidate, Anil Nandlall, speaking to reporters following a meeting between political parties and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), nonetheless said that the party is committed to the recounting exercise which would determine the winner of the polls.

Both the PPP/C and the ruling coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) are claiming victory in the elections had been observed by teams from Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Organisation of American States (OAS), Carter Centre and the Commonwealth among others.

The recount is being observed by a three-member Caricom team and Nandlall said he is hoping that the other observer teams would be allowed into the country to observe the new process.

“All we want is that the process must be conducted fairly, transparently, should be properly oversight and should be seen by as many people as possible to avoid skulduggery, and the process is done accurate so that in the end we get an accurate result and the ballots cast by the people on March 2 are actually counted and the results declared based on upon those ballots.”

Nandlall said neither he nor the party was prepared to speculate going forward regarding the recounting exercise, saying “we will have to cross that bridge when we reach it.

“I can’t give no carte blanche commitment at this stage. We are hoping that all of our issues [which] are in the public domain…there are no secrecy, no sinister motive or ulterior motive attached to them.”

He said prominent among the several proposals made to GECOM during the meeting was live streaming.

“Every single person in the room advanced a case for live streaming, explaining how it would enhance transparency, it will enhance fairness, and it will boost the confidence of the system,” he said, adding that not surprisingly the only opposition to the request came from the political parties affiliated to the APNU.

Nandlall said GECOM has given an undertaking to discuss all the matters raised at the meeting, and that an undertaking was given that the work plan would be gazetted on Monday “and we will be informed when the recount will start because we need to know [and] adequate notice must be given to us”.