Western diplomats warn of isolating Guyana if questionable election results are used to swear in the president

Last Updated on Friday, 13 March 2020, 16:20 by Writer

The United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union on Friday walked out of the Region Four vote tabulation process, issuing a stern warning that Guyana risks isolation if a President is sworn upon questionable results.

“We must be clear that in the absence of a credible process, as directed by the Honorable Chief Justice, it is our view that any results for Region 4 which will impact the overall results of the 2 March elections will not be credible and a President sworn in on the basis of those results will not be considered legitimate.

We are all long-standing friends of Guyana whose countries have supported its development over many decades. The betterment of Guyana and its people has always been our interest. In that spirit we urge all parties to not do anything which could lead to Guyana’s isolation,” the ambassadors said in a joint statement.

Ambassador of the United States of America Sarah-Ann Lynch; British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn; Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee, and the Ambassador of the European Union, Fernando Ponz-Canto said they decided to leave the Region 4 tabulation process Friday morning “as it was clear that a transparent and credible process was not put in place by the responsible officials.”

The envoys added that they were concerned about intimidation tactics “we observed against those seeking to ensure that a credible process is followed.”

The Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire earlier Friday confirmed that her ruling this week, among other things, meant that the Statements of Poll must be shown to all authorized persons who would be present during the vote tabulation process.

The tabulation exercise is scheduled to begin at 4 pm at GECOM’s Kingston, Georgetown, headquarters where the Statements of Poll would be displayed on a projector.

Earlier Friday, representatives of the People’s Progressive Party, Change Guyana and the Private Sector Commission said a clerk, in the presence of Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, had been announcing mostly inflated figures from a spreadsheet in favour of President David Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) without entertaining any objections.