Guyana’s Private Sector Commission has written to the recently re-elected Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States seeking the “urgent intervention” of the OAS to execute a recount of the votes for Region 4 only.
In a letter signed by PSC Chairman Gerry Gouveia and carrying the names of several other organisations, the PSC declared that the Elections Commission has demonstrated that it cannot act impartially and confidence has been lost in the constitutional body for the delivery of free, fair and credible elections.
“We beseech to you take firm action, at this critical juncture, to protect and preserve Guyana’s democracy”, Gouveia wrote, proposing that “at this time of crisis, we call for the intervention of a High-Level international Electoral Mission to be appointed and to execute the recount of the disputed District 4 results, and the final tabulation of the official results of the entire general and regional elections as soon as possible”.
The OAS is one of the international organisations that observed the Guyana Elections. The organisation withdrew its Observer Mission on the 13th March over the controversy that erupted about the tabulation of the Region Four results.
In the letter seen by News Source, Mr. Gouveia pointed to the controversy over the declaration of results for Region 4, stating that “the refusal of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to utilize the Statements of Poll (SoPs) to tabulate and declare the results for District 4 has brought into question the credibility of the official results tabulated by the Chief Elections Officer of GECOM”.
The final tabulation of the votes for Region Four was done by SoPs although there were claims of discrepancies.
The PSC letter stated that the electoral process for the other nine ( 9) Electoral Districts “was executed in compliance with all relevant electoral laws, and those results are not in dispute”.
Concerns have been raised about the results in some of the other regions and like in Region Four, there were requests for a recount but those requests were denied by most of the Returning Officers for those regions where concern was raised.
The letter stated that the international community has been outspoken and the PSC believes that the “addition of voices and dedicated action from the well-poised international community, and, hemispheric and regional organisations, such as the OAS, can protect Guyana’s
democracy and the will of the Guyanese people thereby ensuring the conclusion of the elections process in a credible manner.”
According to the PSC Chairman, the intervention and involvement of the OAS and other international organisations may be the only means available to protect Guyana’s democracy and the rule of law.
“This appears to be the only way to prevent our blessed nation from sliding into a dictatorship and the status of a pariah state”, Gouveia wrote.
The Private Sector Commission is one of the local organisations accredited as an observer for the 2020 elections.
The PSC which represents a large section of the business community has been expressing some of its concern over the elections and the delay in the declaration of final results.
A number of Court challenges over the declarations and a proposed recount stalled the work of GECOM for several days. The Commission is meeting this morning to discuss the way forward.
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