Page 84 - Anatomy-of-a-Fraud

5. Every time radio and television reporters interviewed National

Returns officials (the acting chairman and the secretary) [Pitti and Levy)
and in their presence termed as official the figures for tally sheets
allegedly checked, said officials never disavowed these reports or
made it clear that no such review had taken place.

We all knew that the only official figures given out by the National
Returns Board were those shown on the bulletin boards in its offices.

6. Tally sheets began arriving simultaneously as of Wednesday 9, and
they were hastily read without going into details.

7. On May 10, as the last four tally sheets received on the premises
waited to be read, the ADO group requested that their reading be
postponed and that those tally sheets read since the eight be checked.

They feared that once all the tally sheets had been read, the voice of the
opposition’s parties would not be heard, and the National Returns Board
would issue a resolution approving the tally sheets as read. [A justifiable
fear as, indeed, something very similar to this took place]. This request

was rejected by the representatives of the UNADE parties and the
Tribunal. Over the protests of the ADO representatives, the last
remaining four tally sheets were read.

8. Once all the tally sheets had been read, it was decided, by 14 votes
in favor, that the review of the 34 circuit tally sheets would commence

on Friday morning.

9. Thereupon, the Board’s acting chairman, Dr. Ulises Pittí, called a
recess to allow party representatives to reach an agreement as to the
method they would use the following day to review the tally sheets.

10. However, the irregular way he presided over the debate on the
afternoon of the following day (after Dr. Dormoi’s resignation) [Tejeira

had taken his place], caused some surprise. He allowed Mr. Gerardo
González [a PRD representative] to speak well beyond the regular
time limit without interrupting him… while he prevented other party
representatives from speaking when they asked for the floor to speak

against the motion made by Mr. Escobar [a PRD representative] to
submit all circuit tally sheets to the Electoral Board as if they had
already been reviewed.

Moreover, the floor was denied to party representatives wishing to
explain their vote or to have the minutes show the arbitrary and irregular

fashion in which the proceedings were conducted on the afternoon of
Friday, May 11, and the abrupt adjournment of the meeting. (Our
bolding).