The APNU+AFC administration has refused a renewed United States diplomatic push for the Carter Center to be allowed to return to observe the recount of the votes cast at the March 2 polls, citing CARICOM’s ongoing role in the process and the closure of the airports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[I]t may not be possible for the Carter Centre and the IRI [International Republican Institute] Advisor to participate in the overseeing of the recount of the votes cast on 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections which as you are aware has already commenced,” de facto Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings wrote in a letter, dated May 15, to US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch.
“The Government of Guyana requests that the legitimate decisions it has taken with respect to the role of the Caribbean Community in the recount of the ballots cast in the General and Regional Elections and the Emergency Measures it has implemented to protect its citizens from the COVID-19 pandemic be respected,” Cummings added.
The letter, released by government yesterday, was in response to a May 14 Diplomatic Note from the US Embassy that supplemented an earlier note seeking the re-admission of the Center’s observers, including an advisor from the IRI for the vote recount.
In her response, which was released to the public yesterday, Cummings highlighted the argument that CARICOIM remains “the most legitimate interlocutors in the Guyana situation” and added that Guyana is “confident in the legitimacy, credibility, and competence of the CARICOM Team to perform its task.”
Her reference to CARICOM’s role refers to a statement made by Barbados’ Ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS) when he spoke on Wednesday at the presentation of a preliminary report on Guyana’s elections by former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who had headed the OAS observer mission here. Golding in his presentation produced evidence of rigging in favour of the incumbent at the elections. Noel Lynch in his statement after Golding’s presentation had vowed that CARICOM would stick to its observation mission here to ensure a credible result and he had said that the regional body would not abide by the erosion of democracy in any of its member states.
Despite the COVID-19 measures, the Guyana Government has permitted multiple flights of oil workers into and out of the country during the closure of the airports under strict guidelines and the Center has indicated that that it is prepared to comply with the COVID-19 requirements. In granting permission for a team from CARICOM to come into the country as scrutineers of the recount process, the government Task Force required that they have a negative COVID-19 test result before arriving.
The Carter Center had mounted an observer mission for the polls but had withdrawn after a stalemate had arisen over the District Four votes. The Center has said it wishes to return for the recount. The US, Canada, the UN and the OAS are among those that have called for the Center to be allowed to return.
Meanwhile, Cummings also responded to urgings by US Senator Marco Rubio and a number of his colleagues that President David Granger permit additional observers to the process. In another letter, dated May 15 and released by government, she again reiterated CARICOM’s role as well as the COVID-19 measures, including the closure of the airports. She also said international observer missions have reported that the elections were conducted in a “free, fair and peaceful manner without violence, civil disorder and social disruption.” Although a May 12 letter by the Florida Republican Senator and the others did not name the Carter Center, they said that allowing additional international observers to scrutinise the process is an essential step to strengthening the credibility of the recount.
The letter was written by Rubio along with Senators Jim Risch (Republican of Idaho), Bob Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey), Tim Kaine (Democrat of Virginia) and Ben Cardin (Democrat of Maryland).
Rubio said that while they recognise that Guyana has closed its international airport as part of its efforts to address COVID-19, “we understand that your government is providing special authorisation in important cases.”
It is against this background that he and his colleagues said that with full respect for Guyana’s public health measures, they were hopeful that Granger will consider the presence of additional international observers an essential step to strengthening the credibility of the recount.
Noting that they are closely monitoring the recount while supporting the conduct in a free, fair and transparent manner, the Senator said a crucial part of that process is that credible international observers be allowed to return to Guyana and be given “free and unfettered access to all aspects of the recount in order to confirm the integrity of the process.”
Rubio said they support a fair and transparent recount of the March Presidential election to allay any concerns among the Guyanese people in the integrity of their democratic institutions, in line with Guyana’s successful democratic electoral transitions of the past three decades.
The letter goes on to state that in the midst of the challenges the world is facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Guyana is on the verge of historic change and prosperity and decisions made today will determine whether or not the Guyanese people enter this new era united and confident that their political institutions fairly and equitably reflect their will.
