Georgetown: Five members of the United States Congress dispatched a letter to President David Granger on Thursday advising the Head of State to ensure that he respects the will of the people and abide with the declaration from the recount process as internationally stakeholders will only recognize a legitimate government.
The bipartisan congress officials included: Donna Shalala; Alcee L. Hastings; Paul Cook; Darren Soto, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The writing on the U.S Congress letterhead that was signed by the aforementioned officials stated: “Your leadership role during the recount process is critical to Guyana’s continued respect for the rule of law. Your place in Guyana’s history will be secured by ensuring an internationally-recognized Declaration of Results consistent with the laws of Guyana.”
The letter dated June 4, 2020 commended President Granger’s commitment “to honor the results and your attempts to address the concerns of the Guyanese people.”
“We remain hopeful that the recount will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, instilling confidence in the results and Guyana’s democratic institutions – with the support of the credible international observers that can verify the integrity of the process and the final result. The coronavirus pandemic continues to pose challenges for all countries and we understand that you have taken many unprecedented steps to the slow the spread of the virus, including closing your airport. Even so, all countries implementing measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus have also acknowledged that some work is so essential that it must continue. The legitimacy of elections will ensure the people of Guyana and their friends around the world can trust and e proud of the final result in the ongoing recount,” the U.S official stated.
President Granger had directly blocked the return of US-based democracy watchdog Carter Centre.
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karen Cummings, on May 15 last, writing on behalf of Granger, told the US Ambassador that “…it may not be possible for the Carter Center and the IRI Advisor to participate in the overseeing of the recount of the votes cast in 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections, which as you are aware has already commenced.”
She, at the time, cast blame on emergency measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the imposition of a curfew and the closure of Guyana’s international airports.
In the letter, she also sought to remind the U.S Ambassador that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) high-level team remains the “most legitimate interlocutors” in the current political situation, a mantra since repeated by Granger.
When the Carter Center, which was very vocal on the lack of credibility in the declaration that almost returned the incumbent to office, initially applied for permission to enter Guyana to observe the recount, it was reported that the denial of their request came from the COVID-19 Task Force.
Days later, caretaker Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who is part of the Task Force, revealed that the Carter Center being blocked from returning was due to the President not granting approval.
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