Georgetown: The caretaker APNU/AFC Government on Friday once again denied permission for the Carter Center observers to return to Guyana to complete the observation mission of the recount process of votes cast on March 2, 2020.
After multiple requests, this is formally the second time the Government has denied entry to the Carter Center.
President David Granger had rejected the initial request along with another made by the United States Embassy in Guyana.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Karen Cummings responded to a May 14 Diplomatic Note sent by U.S Ambassador to Guyana Sara Ann Lynch asking that the Government reconsider its position.
In the Foreign Minister’s response, the U.S Ambassador was asked to respect the Government’s decision not to allow the Carter Center observers to return.
The U.S Embassy had also requested for an Advisor from the International Republican Institute to return with the Carter Center observers.
Below are some of the Foreign Minister’s response to the U.S Ambassador:
I iterate that:
• The Caribbean Community remains “…the most legitimate interlocutors in the Guyana situation” and that Guyana, equally, is confident in the legitimacy, credibility, and competence of the CARICOM team to perform its task
• Owing to the Public Health situation which arose as a consequence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the series of Emergency Measures that were promulgated since 16th March 2020, including the closure of its international airports; it may not be possible for the Carter Centre and the IRI Advisor to participate in the overseeing of the recount of votes cast on 2nd March 2020 General and Regional Elections which as you are aware has already commenced.
• The Government of Guyana requests that the legitimate decisions it has taken with respect to the role of the Caribbean Community in the recount of the ballots cast in the General and Regional Elections and the Emergency Measures it has implemented to protect its citizens from the COVID-19 pandemic be respected.
The Carter Center first played a key role in the historic 1992 elections in Guyana and has observed every election since then.
Meanwhile, Dr. David Caroll, who heads the Center’s Democracy Program, told a section of the private media that an independent and impartial observers like the Carter Center operates to give credence to the electoral process.
He said that the Center only had two observers it planned to send to Guyana, and though there is some amount of live streaming of the process, it would be much more preferable to have observers on the ground.
Dr Caroll has been coming to Guyana since 1991 when the Carter Center became engaged in this country and helped to chart the way towards the return of free and fair elections after two decades of elections in the post-independence period that were marked by electoral fraud.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned Guyana that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate governments/regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States.
He said that the United States joins the Organisation of American States, (OAS) the Commonwealth, European Union, CARICOM and other democratic partners in calling for an accurate count. He added that the U.S. commends CARICOM’s role in seeking a swift democratic resolution.
The US has been issuing a number of statements since the 2nd March elections raising questions about the credibility of the elections and the need for a proper count and tabulation of the Region 4 votes.
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