Commonwealth SG urges acceptance of recount result

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland yesterday welcomed the CARICOM observers report on the recount of the March 2nd general elections and called for the acceptance of the results.

In a statement, the Secretary General said:

“I welcome the report of the CARICOM Observer Team to the Recount of the Guyana 2 March 2020 elections and commend them for their brave and selfless service.

“The CARICOM Observer report is clear that the recount results are completely acceptable and that nothing that the CARICOM Observers witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of the results of the 2 March elections.

“President Granger and the Leader of the Opposition demonstrated commendable leadership when they agreed to the recount and committed to respect and adhere to the recount results. This continued leadership and commitment is needed now more than ever. The people of Guyana have been patient and deserve finality as determined by the recount results.

“I also wish to thank Senior Commonwealth Adviser, Dr Afari-Gyan, who remains faithful, steadfast and resilient in his professional and experienced support to the Guyana Elections Commission.

“The Commonwealth continues to stand with Guyana and urge the leaders and the people of Guyana to live up to the lofty aspirations set out in your constitution, your electoral laws, and the Commonwealth Charter”.

The Commonwealth observer mission to the March 2nd elections was headed by former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur.

He had said that voting and counting was smooth except for the District Four tabulation which is now widely accepted to have been rigged by the Returning Officer.

In the aftermath of the impasse over the elections and signs that there might have been an attempt for an illegal swearing in of Granger, there were warnings that Guyana risked being suspended from the Commonwealth.

On April 2nd, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) took up the case of Guyana’s elections stalemate and called on GECOM to fulfil its constitutional mandate for a credible tabulation of votes and warned that any government sworn-in without a transparent process would lack legitimacy.

CMAG is the body to which persistent offenders of the Commonwealth’s shared principles are referred.