Transparency Institute: GECOM must verify results before announcing winner

-says circumstances of Region Four declaration have created appearance of collusion with APNU+AFC

Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) which was one of the local observers at the March 2 general elections yesterday said that GECOM has a duty and owes it to the people of Guyana to verify the results of the elections before announcing a winner.

It added in a statement that any President sworn in prior to verification of the results will have his legitimacy questioned and GECOM would have shredded its credibility.

TIGI further said that the circumstances surrounding the declaration of the controversial Region Four results “have created an appearance of collusion between GECOM and the incumbent, APNU+AFC, in so far as the results which were not transparently verified but declared for region 4 tip the national election in favour of the incumbent”.

TIGI’s statement adds to mounting pressure on caretaker President David Granger and Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chair, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh to enable and support full verification of the election results, particularly for Region Four.

In its statement, the local anti-corruption group said that free and fair elections are indispensable in a democracy and convey the people’s choice of leadership. It warned that in the absence of a credible process for determining the results, the legitimacy of any leadership installed is questionable. It posited that all reports to date and its own observations show that the March 2nd elections were overall free and fair at the level of voting.

“This, however, has been derailed by tabulation of the results in Region 4 which has the largest population of the ten regions with the potential to determine the outcome of the national election. In this regard, we have taken note of and endorse the press statement by the Guyana Human Rights Association (see Stabroek News, March 7, 2020) on the process followed by the GECOM.

https://www.stabroeknews.co m/2020/03/07/news/guyana/ghr a-urges-gecom-to-continueregion-four-verification-usingsops/

“The GECOM has a duty and owes it to the people of Guyana to verify the results of the elections before announcing a winner. All this must precede the swearing-in of a president. Should a president be sworn-in prior to verification of the results, the legitimacy of that president and his/her regime will remain questionable and GECOM would have shredded its credibility and that of its officers. We also believe that no leader worthy of the presidency and of the responsibility to lead the development of our society would countenance such a cloud over his/her leadership. Even when systems fail, leadership cannot be allowed to fail”, TIGI stated.

TIGI pointed out that political parties and the local and international observers agree that an appropriate process for verification of the tabulated results was utilised in all the regions except region 4. It added that the transparent process was initially followed in region 4 and then terminated.

“There is no reason why this should happen. Notwithstanding GECOM’s power to decide on its processes, a change in process would necessitate agreement of all involved to maintain integrity and there was no such agreement. Against this backdrop, the results declared for region 4 in the 2020 elections lack credibility”, TIGI argued.

It further said that the circumstances surrounding the declaration of the results for Region 4

“have created an appearance of collusion between GECOM and the incumbent, APNU+AFC, in so far as the results which were not transparently verified but declared for Region 4 tip the national election in favour of the incumbent”.

Citing a Guyana Chronicle report of March 10, 2020, TIGI noted that President Granger has indicated that he has not intervened in the functions of GECOM in relation to the results of the elections.

“However, his statement has not cleared his party and its members of such interventions. Furthermore, whereas he indicated that GECOM should be allowed to `execute its mandate to deliver credible elections to the Guyanese people’, he did not indicate whether he believes that the results as declared are credible (see Guyana Chronicle, March 10, 2020). It is important to note that the credibility of elections is an assessment to be made by citizens and observers including political parties and is not evident upon GECOM being allowed to do its work. We therefore call on the APNU+AFC to indicate its position on the credibility of the process employed by GECOM in region 4 and to clear its image in the interest of its supporters and the country”, TIGI added.

TIGI said that the longer a credible and correct procedure is postponed, the greater the opportunity will be given to possible compromising of the ballot boxes at GECOM that are no longer within sight of local and international observers.