Commonwealth, OAS pleased with CARICOM report

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland has said that she welcomes the report of the CARICOM Scrutinising Team for the recount of Guyana’s March 2, 2020 elections and commended them for their brave and selfless service.

“The CARICOM Observer report is clear that the recount results are completely acceptable and that nothing that the CARICOM Observers witnessed warrants a challenge to the inescapable conclusion that the recount results are acceptable and should constitute the basis of the declaration of the results of the 2 March elections,” Scotland said in a release.

She added that President David Granger and the leader of the opposition demonstrated commendable leadership when they agreed to the recount and committed to respect and adhere to the recount results. “This continued leadership and commitment is [sic] needed now more than ever. The people of Guyana have been patient and deserve finality as determined by the recount results. I also wish to thank Senior Commonwealth Adviser, Dr Afari-Gyan, who remains faithful, steadfast and resilient in his professional and experienced support to the Guyana Elections Commission. The Commonwealth continues to stand with Guyana and urge the leaders and the people of Guyana to live up to the lofty aspirations set out in your constitution, your electoral laws, and the Commonwealth Charter,” the statement added.

For its part, the Organisation of American States (OAS) has called for a transition of government. In a media release on Monday, the OAS came out in support of the June 15 submitted report of the CARICOM Scrutinising Team on Guyana’s national recount which states that the results of the recount were “transparent and credible.” The report, though it highlights a number of cases where defects were present, upheld the results of the recount as reflecting the will of the people.

The OAS believes that nothing should therefore prevent the Chair of GECOM from now declaring the election based on these results. The recount results show majority votes cast in favour of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. As such, the OAS has called on the current administration of Guyana to “begin the process of transition.”

The report of Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, submitted on June 13, had noted glaring irregularities, anomalies and voter impersonation as coming out of the elections.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General (SG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, on Monday received the report of the CARICOM team. The team was led by Ms. Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and included Mr. John Jarvis, Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission and Mr. Sylvester King, Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The SG thanked the team for the commitment, professionalism and integrity with which they undertook an arduous task over the past six weeks. Chair of CARICOM, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, thanked the team for their service to Guyana and the wider Community, particularly for being away from their families at this difficult time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team arrived on May 1 for the recount exercise, which began on May 6 and ended on June 9 with the final certification. The need for a CARICOM Scrtinising Team was agreed by the leaders of the two main political parties in Guyana following their discussions with Prime Minister Mottley and Secretary-General LaRocque. A team was invited to scrutinise the recount by Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM), Madame Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. The report has been submitted to Prime Minister Mottley and to Madame Justice (Ret’d.) Singh.