US, UK, Canada, EU call on GECOM to declare results using recount figures
Ambassadors to major Western countries are trusting the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to use the results of the National Recount of votes to make a declaration, and bring Guyana’s protracted electoral process to an end. A joint statement came from Ambassador of the United States of America, Sarah-Ann Lynch; the British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn; the Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee; and the Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Fernando Ponz-Canto. “It is important in our view,” they said, “that every vote, cast by every voter, be reflected in that declaration, in order to ensure that the will of the people of Guyana is respected.
That respect includes an election declaration of results that mirrors the order and integrity displayed by the people of Guyana, GECOM and party officials, as witnessed by domestic and international observers during the 2nd March General and Regional Elections.” The statement is a direct response to news of a report submitted by Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield to the Elections Commission, which seeks to rob 115,844 voters of their franchise in the General Election, and hand a victory to the APNU+AFC Coalition. Lowenfield has provided no explanation for his numbers, which stand starkly in contrast to the results of the recount, which hand the PPP/C a General Election victory of 233,336 votes, over the Coalition’s 217,920 votes.
The Ambassadors reminded President David Granger that it was he who referred to the CARICOM team that hailed the results as credible, as “the most legitimate interlocutor” on the Guyana situation. That team has reported on its observation on the National Recount and has said that, “nothing we witnessed, warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of results of the March 2, 2020 elections.”
The President had committed to respecting the judgment of the CARICOM team, but he has been silent on the report since it was handed over to GECOM, while members of his party and the Commissioners who he nominated to GECOM continue to cast aspersions on the conclusions reached by the team. The Western ambassadors made sure to applaud the Guyanese public for their patience and peacefulness, having had to wait more than 16 weeks for the electoral process to conclude. Pending the outcome of the appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the ambassadors await the Elections Commission to fulfill its constitutional duty by ensuring the democratic choice of Guyana is fulfilled.
(Kaieteur News)