[38]
Order 60 relates only to the Elections held on 2 March 2020. It was specifically
introduced to cater for the various disputes and contentions that arose after polling
day. The intention was to provide an open, transparent, and accountable recount of
all the votes cast in those elections. The purpose was to assuage the contestations
among the various parties, determine ‘a final credible count’, and remove certain
difficulties or fill certain gaps in connection with the application of the provisions
of the Representation of the People Act. The recount was to be conducted in the
presence of representatives of political parties that contested the Elections, advisors
to and members of GECOM and a range of other personnel. GECOM was to serve
as the final arbiter of issues not resolved at lower levels in the established
procedure. The CEO was to supervise the recount process.
[39]
The aim at transparency included a variety of measures. At each “workstation”
where counting was to be carried out, there was to be installed a picture of the ballot
box depicting the state in which it was delivered to the workstation and an audio
feed of the recount process. An audio-visual facility was established in the
Tabulation Centre broadcasting live the entire tabulation process. Order 60
carefully set out how the process should unfold. The result of the recount of each
ballot box was to be recorded on a Statement of Recount signed by the
representatives of each contesting party. The tabulation of the Statements of
Recount was to be done at a central tabulation centre in an openly transparent
manner. Once all the Statements of Recount were tabulated, the supervisor for
tabulation was to ascertain and verify the entries therein and calculate totals, again
in the presence of various personnel. This ascertained and verified matrix was to be
signed by the District Coordinator for the District and the signed matrix was to be
transmitted to the CEO whose responsibility it was to tabulate the matrices of the
ten electoral districts and submit to the Commission a report together with a
summary of observation reports for each District. GECOM would deliberate on this
report and then determine whether it would request the CEO to use the data
compiled as the basis for the submission of a report under section 96 of the
Representation of the People Act.