Coalition partner WPA joins call for national recount of votes

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), one of the small parties that make up APNU+AFC coalition has joined the many calls for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to undertake a national recount of the ballots cast at the March 2 general and regional elections.

The party made it clear that it fully supports CARICOM’s supervision of this recount in chronological order from one to ten.

“We call on all political parties to accept the results of a recount and will call on them to do so if necessary,” the WPA said Saturday.

The WPA is the second coalition partner to have broken its silence on the contentious and disputed elections process by GECOM.

The party is made up of David Hinds, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley who serve as Executive Members among others.

Sarabo –Halley was in 2019 appointed to serve as Minister of Public Service under the coalition Government.

The WPA also noted that a National Unity Government that focused on constitutional reform is the only way out of the current impasse.

See the WPA’s full statement below:

A National Unity Government with a Mandate for Constitutional Reform Is the Only Way Out of our Historical Entrapment

In our earlier “Election Statement” WPA had expressed grave concern over developments since March 2 when Guyanese went to the polls to elect the next government. We stated that, for a party which is well aware of the dangers of elections within a winner-takes-all framework, we are aghast at the turn of events.

At stake is the very survival of the multi-ethnic covenant that has held our country together since emancipation. The signs of severe dislocation cannot be ignored. WPA has throughout its long life as a political party and actor advocated for a political solution to our historical problems in the form of a power-sharing Government of National Unity, which guarantees our major ethnic groups protection against domination by the other.

It is the foremost reason for our initial and continued membership of the Coalition which we view as a steppingstone towards such a government. We renew that call now in this hour of seeming despair. At this moment the WPA is in no better position than the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) to decide which party was victorious in the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

Like the rest of the nation, we continue to be alarmed about the developments surrounding tabulation of the votes. The inherent logic of competitive elections is “winners and losers”. At this point in our national existence we are more concerned with a different outcome.

A national unity government with a mandate for constitutional reform ending the present winner- takes- all governance system is the only way out of our historical entrapment, which hinders economic and social progress as well as racial unity. The WPA as a member of the APNU+AFC coalition is therefore fully committed to a resolution of this crisis in such a manner as to allow the country and its people to make the best use of our new-found wealth from our oil and gas resources.

WPA joins in solidarity with those who call for one or more of the following:

(A) We reiterate our demand that following the examination of the ballot boxes which reveal the credibility of the elections, whichever party wins the most votes forms a government of national unity for an agreed period with a clear mandate to complete constitutional reform and ending the “winner takes- all” governance system.

(b) A verified recount of all electoral districts as legally permitted under the Constitution. For the avoidance of any doubt we welcome CARICOM’s supervision of this recount in chronological order from one to ten. We call on all political parties to accept the results of a recount and will call on them to do so if necessary;

1. C) Full respect for the rights of citizens to seek redress in the courts of law on any related electoral issue.

(d) We denounce all calls for sanctions being imposed on Guyana. These will hurt mostly those who are already hurting from poverty and powerlessness.

1. e) WPA rejects violence in all its forms and especially as has occurred since election day politically directed against children, women and law enforcement personnel.