GCCI condemns political interference in electoral process

See full statement from GCCI:

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) notes with growing concern
the increasingly hostile and aggressive posture taken by members of the Guyana Police
Force (GPF) against representatives of political parties and accredited observers.

Members of the GCCI’s electoral observer team were present on the evening of March
16th 2020, at the compound of the Arthur Chung International Conference Centre
(ACICC) when a group of accredited observers and party agents who had convened a
peaceful gathering outside of the building were confronted by riot police and forced to
leave the premises.

The GCCI can confirm that the observers and party representatives who attempted to question and gain clarity on the orders were subsequently threatened with incarceration.

The GCCI condemns all attempts of intimidation by the GPF as such actions set an uncomfortable precedent for the treatment of those involved in elections observation, and
also brings the GPF’s professionalism and impartiality into question.

The GCCI calls on all parties involved to exercise restraint and refrain from interfering
with or compromising the independence and integrity of the electoral process and to act
only in a legal framework in accordance with the law.

Acts of intimidation targeted towards accredited observers and party representatives and
attempts of overt political interference in the work of the Guyana Elections Commission
(GECOM) must be openly denounced by all right-thinking political actors as such actions
threaten to weaken and undermine democracy in Guyana.