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A full recount of votes in the San Fernando East constituency is set to begin at 3 p.m. today at Pleasantville Secondary School, following a formal request by United National Congress (UNC) candidate John Michael Alibocus.

According to Alibocus’ election agent Kent Samlal, their internal tally showed Alibocus receiving 6,357 votes, while People's National Movement (PNM) candidate Brian Manning got 7,019 votes. Patriotic Front candidate Kenrick Serrette received 502 votes. The margin of defeat, said Samlal, was 662 votes by their count, though the returning officer reported a slightly higher gap of 669 votes.

Samlal confirmed the recount request was prompted by several reported irregularities at polling stations across the electoral district. Chief among them was an incident involving an unlocked ballot box at the Mon Repos RC School. “We had cause to write to the EBC indicating our concerns,” Samlal said. In response, Samlal said the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) acknowledged the box had indeed been open but maintained that the voting process was not compromised in any way.