Georgetown Chamber, miners association will not recognise ‘illegitimate’ govt

-say every lawful measure will be taken to resist it

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) have jointly declared that any government that is sworn in on the basis of non-credible results will not be recognised by the local business community, and that every lawful measure will be taken to resist and condemn such an action.

In a joint release yesterday, GCCI and GGDMA stated that the business community in Guyana in solidarity with the international community and the leadership of key international trading partners is r e iterating the call for the transition of government to only take place in line with transparent and democratic principles that lead to credible results. They therefore declared, “Any government that is sworn in on the basis of non-credible results will NOT be recognized by the local business community, and we will take every lawful measure to resist and condemn it.”

They reminded that every vote must count and transparency and democratic values must at all times remain “sacrosanct”. According to the release, over the past days, much of the management and staff of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) “have proven themselves to be incompetent, compromised, biased and untrustworthy in their handling of our very precious national elections.” For this reason, the two organisations stated their belief that the only immediately available panacea to this impasse that would bring a credible conclusion to the election process is the national recount of all ballots, verified by independent local and international observers, and supervised by a trusted independent arbiter, such as CARICOM, which has already been committed to by the Chair of GECOM. Should not such a recount materialise, then “the egregious intentions of the ‘forces’, as referred to by the Hon. Miss Mia Mottley (Barbados Prime Minister and CARICOM Chair), will be realized, plunging our country into illegitimate rule and economic despair.”

There has been a continuous pleading by local businesses, civil society organisations and other groups for all concerned to be “wary of the grave ramifications” that sanctions will have on Guyana and that such a bleak eventuality should be taken seriously. Over the recent weeks, the organisations have observed the stepping up of calls by certain powerful trading partners with whom we rely on to not only purchase our exports, but also to provide us with essential imports, indicating that should an

illegitimate government be installed in Guyana, there will be severe repercussions. This therefore leads us to conclude that such sanctions are imminent if such a government is installed. The prospect of such action has given rise to much concern by all political parties and the release reminded that sanctions are consequential and would only apply if Guyana refuses to follow the democratic path and swear in a candidate based on flawed election results while reiterating, “Any government sworn in via this process would not be legitimate and will not be recognised.”

Reference was made to the globalised world which renders no country as an economic island and the fact that Guyana’s financial and social prosperity is inextricably interlinked to its relationship with international trading partners. The Chamber and Association emphasised that it was not their wish for Guyana to become a pariah state “thereby facing sanctions that would cripple our fledgling economy and squander any gains that we have made over the many years of struggle.” Simply put, they said,

Guyana cannot afford to face sanctions and does not have the financial or manufacturing capability to support its largely import dependent economy. Consequently, exports will suffer as the country will be unable to access the level of trade that is currently enjoyed.

The statement opined that the current global pandemic has placed the country in an even more precarious position, and would therefore “desperately” need international support and funding, adding that it is unclear whether or not funding for Guyana’s fight against the coronavirus disease will be given to an “illegitimate” regime. In other words, all Guyanese will face “harsh consequences” if access to such support from the World Bank, The IDB, the United Nations and other global partners is withheld.

The two organisations appealed to all parties concerned to heed the stream of statements emanating from CARICOM, Commonwealth, India, UK, US, and EU and many other international partners and echoed the call “for a credible electoral process that provides the democratic outcome that the Guyanese people deserve,”

the release added.