World watches Guyana

The eyes of the world were on Guyana on Friday, with stern statements on the controversial general elections from the US State Department, Caricom, Commonwealth and Organisation of American States (OAS), following Thursday’s joint statement by diplomats from US, UK, EU and Canada.

The gist of the remarks was that results were declared before completion of the count of votes.

On Friday, Caricom said it was concerned about allegations over the tabulation of results based on the Statements of Polls (SOPs) in Region 4.

“The Community calls on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to ensure that all legal and procedural processes are faithfully complied with in respect of the vote count and the declaration of results to ensure that the outcome of the polls expresses the will of the people of Guyana.

“We call on all parties and Guyanese to remain calm while these issues are resolved.” Former Barbados prime minister Owen Arthur on Thursday expressed his concerns as Commonwealth Observer Group chairman.

“This morning and this afternoon, 5 March 2020, I personally visited the said office. It is the clear view of the Group that the tabulation of the final election results has not yet been completed and verified according to the established procedures and relevant legal and statutory provisions.

“We strongly urge the Guyana Elections Commission and all parties involved to ensure the process properly follows the legal steps dictated by the laws of Guyana and is in line with the country’s international commitments.”

The US State Department’s Ambassador Michael Kozak posted two tweets. “The people of Guyana deserve a credible election and legitimate transfer of power; the democracies of the region expect that Guyana will uphold our shared values. “No candidate should declare victory or be sworn in while serious questions remain about credibility of March 2 elections and whether procedures were followed.”

Five US congressmen issued a statement, Bipartisan Members of Congress Express Deep Concern about Elections in Guyana.

These were Reps Albio Sires (D-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and Francis Rooney (R-FL).

“We are deeply concerned about allegations of fraud in Guyana’s elections. International election observers are in agreement that the results released for region 4 could not be verified and were presented yesterday in violation of the established vote tabulation process.

“We call on the election commission (GECOM) to return to the established procedure and not to declare a winner until a credible vote tabulation process has been completed.”

The website of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday posted a joint statement by the international observer missions from the OAS, Commonwealth, EU and Carter Center.

“The tabulation of results for the election in Region 4 was interrupted and remains incomplete.

“The law requires that tabulation must be conducted in the presence of party agents and observers.

“Until this transparent process takes place, the counting of votes recorded for Region 4 remains incomplete. The transparent tabulation of results for Region 4 must be resumed in order to proceed to the establishment of national results.

“A calm and conducive environment must be provided by the police.

“We urge all political parties to adhere to the codes of conduct signed by them.”

They said the Guyana Elections Commission’s chairperson, commissioners, chief election officer, and Region 4 returning officer and deputy returning officer must be available and committed to establish the results for Region 4 in line with the law. “Until this occurs, the result of these elections cannot be credibly declared.”