Red Bank villagers fuming about results of election

Village council elections were held last week in forty-four communities and by today and not surprisingly, both political parties were claiming overwhelming support. That aside, in the Red Bank Village near Independence, the results are in dispute and residents are clamoring for a reelection. Over a hundred villagers gathered turned out in the center of Red Bank saying they are most unhappy with the election process on Sunday. Officially, Juan Acal who ran on the red ticket was declared the winner, but his contender, Jonathan Cho, is crying foul. 

Via Phone: Jonathan Cho, Lost bid as Chairman

“The six officers who were there gathered around the table and the scrutineers and the candidate, myself, was not invited to observe the counting. So they did it by themselves. And when it came to the spoilt and the split votes, they decided what is split and what is spoilt. They didn’t consult with the scrutineers or myself or the other candidate about what was going on.  When they finished reconcile the ballots, I thought that they were going to start the counting process. So I went back and sit down. And then the person in charge just went and wrote the number this is the total for this persons and this is the total for the other one. And then they declared the winner there and then so no counting openly happened.”

Via Phone: Alberto Acal, Scrutineer, Red Bank Elections

“We had run the general elections and everything was fair and square and we had nothing to argue about. But this one here now, it was not right and it was not properly done. It was improper. As a scrutineer at the elections held at Red Bank Village, in my community, I observed so many interference that was taking place between other scrutineers and voters who were voting and who can’t vote. Some scrutineers physically voted for voters who were unable to vote for themselves. Or those who needed assistance to vote during the elections.  I’m very concerned about such behavior as well as close to four hundred voters in light of this situation and the improper counting process; our community is demanding a reelection as soon as possible. The official people in Belmopan and those who are in charge come and let us do something about it because it really makes it bad. I believe that the officers who run the election didn’t do their work the right way; they failed to do their job.”

According to Acal, they have signaled their concerns to the Elections and Boundaries Office in Dangriga and will formally address the issue in writing.