Diplomats claim creditable info on ‘electoral fraud’: mounts pressure on Granger/GECOM

Retired Justice Claudette Singh Receiving after being sworn in as Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission

The Heads of Mission of four superpowers have issued a joint statement calling for President David Granger not to be sworn for a second term, citing “electoral fraud” which they believe may influence
the outcome of the elections.

Those superpowers comprise the United States (US), Britain, Canada, and the European Union (EU) – all of which have been observing the General and Regional Elections. “The Heads of Mission… express deep concern over credible allegations of electoral fraud which may influence the results of this election” the joint statement read.

The tabulation and verification process for Region four – the largest electoral region in Guyana – was aborted on Wednesday by GECOM. Yesterday, the Returning Officer (RO) made a declaration that the
APNU+AFC coalition had won the region with over 230,000 votes, which would ultimately hand them an overall victory.

However, all political parties contesting the elections, with the exception of the coalition, have contended that the declaration was unverified since more than 500 statements of poll were not tabulated or verified in their presence or that of the observers. Since then, local and international observers and foreign powers have been issuing statements calling for the process to continue and conclude in region four. With the declaration made by the RO however, unconfirmed reports suggest that efforts are being made to swear in President David Granger for a second term – a move which the Heads of Missions have advised against, as it would be unconstitutional.

“We call on President Granger to avoid a transition of government which we believe would be unconstitutional as it would be based on a vote tabulation process that lacked credibility and transparency,” they said.
The three countries and the EU also issues a call for stakeholders to ensure “proper procedures” are in place to yield a credible election result. “A fair and free process is vital for the maintenance and reinforcement of democracy in Guyana” the statement ended.

At the same time, international observer missions including the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), and The Carter Center contended that the tabulation
and verification of Region four remain “incomplete”. “The law requires that tabulation must be conducted in the presence of party agents and observers. Until this transparent process takes place, the counting of votes recorded for Region 4 remains incomplete” those missions said earlier today. For this to be done, the observers shared the GECOM officials must be available and committed to establishing the results for the region in accordance with the law. Failure to do this, they added, would result in the results not being “credibly declared”.

The observers also encouraged the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to ensure that a calm and conducive environment is provided. There are several protests currently ongoing across the country, mainly in the opposition PPP strongholds. The PPP has declared that it would win the elections by more than 18,000 votes if Region four is to be tabulated and verified.

Meanwhile, President David Granger, this morning, met with CARICOM and representatives of the Organization of the American States (OAS) at the Ministry of the Presidency where he informed them
that the elections were orderly and in compliance with the law.