Congratulating the people of Guyana for their “dedication to the pursuit of free and fair elections” and calling the results a “win-win” situation, the ABC diplomats, in a statement yesterday called on Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation, to accept the results.
The call was made yesterday at a forum held by the Private Sector Commission. Also present was Head of the European Union Delegation, Robert Kopecky.
American Ambassador Brent Hardt, reading from a joint statement signed by him, British High Commissioner, Andrew Ayre, and Canadian High Commissioner, David Devine, said, “It is critical at this important moment in Guyana’s history that all Guyanese regardless of party affiliation join together and work toward the higher principle of stable effective and transparent democratic governance.”
The statement went on “Adherence to democratic principles involves respect for the rule of law and the maintenance of peace order and security. It is our fervent hope that all Guyanese respect the democratic outcome, as expressed by the people of Guyana through their votes in the recent elections. This outcome offers an historic opportunity for the people of Guyana to come together and work across party lines to advance the interests of all people in Guyana.”
Speaking for the diplomatic envoys present, Hardt, in response to a question about whether the missions felt this year’s elections were free and fair said, they will go with declarations made by international observers, who specialized in scrutiny at the elections level.
He said that although there were areas that needed to be addressed, all in all the elections were free and fair. “While they all noted that there were areas that could be done better, I think that by and large they found the elections were free and fair,” he said.
He also said that in his estimation the hung parliament offered an opportunity all Guyanese should seize since not only was it historic but would set the stage for all parties to have a say.
Said Hardt: “This election really is a win-win! It’s a historic sea-change in the political life of Guyana that offers an opportunity for all parties to be constructively engaged together because of the parliamentary shift.”
