Political and all other leaders come and go but institutions remain and it is the reason that Washington will continue to work with Guyana to strengthen them, outgoing United States Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch declared.
The Ambassador who has served nearly five years here and leaves soon to begin duteis at the US Southern Command, reflected on the 2020 elections and the role her country and others played in ensuring the upholding of the recount result of the 2020 elections. She spoke during an exclusive interview with Stabroek News.
During the five-month elections impasse here, the results declaration became a major issue and the US played an important role in pressing for the recount result and in so doing, had underscored the value of democracy and the rule of law.
However, later that year, that country’s own elections became the subject of an attempt to subvert the result, and former President Donald Trump has now been charged in two separate cases.
The Ambassador was asked of her posture on those critics who reference the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2020 as undermining the credibility of the US in pushing for democracy around the world.
The American envoy in response, underscored the importance of strong institutions, as she pointed out that they promote the creation and maintenance of an orderly process by which decisions are made, disputes are resolved, and power is transferred from one group to another.
“I think what is important, in the United States, and in US elections, and in US judicial process, are institutions, and US institutions are strong. We, you know, have a few years ahead of Guyana on developing our institutions and it’s really the institutions, not the people that will ensure that democracy prevails; the democratic principles are adhered to and that rule of law is followed,” she stated.
“I think the United States continues to project these very important values overseas. That is of democracy, of rule of law, all of the importance of addressing issues of human rights, and we stand firm on those things. Those things don’t change from administration to administration. They don’t change from institution to institution. People come and go. Leaders come and go, but the institutions remain and they’re sustainable and strong,” she added.
Here in Guyana where the US is seen to be this country’s most important ally, the Ambassador said that Washington promises to remain steadfast in helping Georgetown strengthen its institutions.
“I would encourage Guyana to strengthen [its institutions]. We are steadfast in our wanting to help Guyana work towards strengthening its institutions, because that’s really what is important to any democratic nation,” she stressed.
Yesterday, at a press conference hosted at the Herdmanston Lodge in Queenstown, Georgetown, Lynch said that with General and Regional Elections near, this country should take the necessary steps to strengthen its electoral system, as she pointed out that the Guyana Elections Commission itself was compiling a report on the elections and will make recommendations.
“The electoral process is critical to a strong democracy, so I would advise the people of Guyana, the Government, all parties to look at those recommendations very closely, look at the recommendations that were made after the 2020 Elections to see what really stands out, what things can be worked on now. You don’t want to wait until the last minute, until it is a month before the elections.”
Tools
She also posited that this country should carefully assess the recommendations on its elections and overall electoral strengthening and “explore all tools that Guyana has access to, in order to again ensure that elections continue to be free and fair.”
Asked about exploring biometrics here, she said that that forms a part of holistic assessment, even as she noted that many countries globally were switching to that system. “I think many nations now are exploring biometrics, that’s one additional tool that they can use to ensure that elections are free and fair.”
Looking back at the five-month elections impasse, she said that it was a difficult time.
“It was a difficult time. It was a difficult five months. And to be honest I wasn’t sure what was happening.”
However, she pointed out that she believed that “it was incumbent upon me as the US Ambassador to have a voice and to speak out on the things that I observed and to project the importance of adhering to democratic principles and ensuring that democracy prevailed.”
She added: “It was not easy as you know. Even after there were some issues after Election Day; there was a full recount and even after the full recount, it still wasn’t clear which road Guyana was going down. What I was happy about is that together with other members of the international community here in Guyana, and also overseas, we weren’t alone in making these statements, we weren’t alone in defending democracy. Certainly, the ABCE countries worked together very closely on a number of statements, at that time, but more broadly the people of the Caribbean, the members of Caricom, the people of South America, members of the OAS, European nations, African nations, Asian nations. I think at the end of the day, there are about 130 nations that eventually weighed in making comments saying ‘This has to end. If you want to call yourself a democracy, you have to recognise the voice of the people,” she related.
She said that enough credit is not given to the people of the country, whom she hailed as the true heroes as they held out for what they believed in.
“I am just very happy that that is what ended up happening and I applaud my team here at the embassy in Georgetown [as] those were some difficult days for staff, and I’m talking American and local staff. It was tough but people stood tall here, but mostly it was the Guyanese people that stood tall and I really commend them for doing that and I really commend them at a historic time in Guyana’s history,” she said.
