The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, on Sunday congratulated the new President of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on his election.
A statement from the organisation noted that the OAS has closely monitored the situation here since the polls closed on the night of March 2, 2020.
“We are happy that the multiple calls by the General Secretariat, national stakeholders and bilateral and multilateral partners, for the genuine results of the elections to be respected, were heard by GECOM.
“The OAS congratulates the people of Guyana for their patience. We also congratulate the GECOM Chair, Justice Ret’d Claudette Singh, for remaining true to her convictions and standing firm against the many efforts to undermine the will of the people”, Almagro said in the statement.
He added that democracy in Guyana was put to the test in this process. “Although it ultimately prevailed, it is clear there are weaknesses in Guyana’s electoral system that must be addressed. In the coming months we will issue our final report on the 2020 process with recommendations that can assist in addressing these weaknesses and avoiding a similar situation in the future”, the OAS Secretary General said.
Guyana’s elections and its problems were the subjects of two meetings of the Permanent Council of the OAS at which a number of countries stressed the need for the use of results of the recount of votes for the declaration of the winner. The OAS had monitored the recount. At the first of the Permanent Council meetings, the head of the OAS observer mission to the Guyana elections, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding had pointed out blatant fraud committed by the District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
