Georgetown: President David Granger has stated that there first needs to be evidence of wrongdoing before sanctions can be imposed in Guyana.
He made the comment on Monday evening during an interview on the radio programme Straight Up.
Foreign powers, including the U.S., Canada, UK, and the 27-member European Union (EU), have issued threats of sanctions if a President and Government is sworn in based on electoral fraud following the March 02 general and regional elections.
The Head of State said the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition government has “nothing to hide” and urged that persons wait until the recount process is completed before judgements are made.
“My government has done nothing wrong and I do not think those sanctions could be justified if it is shown that my government has behaved legally and the elections process was a legitimate one and that it satisfies international standards,” he remarked.
The President further expressed concern if the international community-imposed sanctions; stating it was not something he wants to be inflicted on the people of Guyana.
“When you were to consider what is likely to happen to the Guyana economy were any form of sanctions to be applied, it could be extremely damaging for a very long time.”
The Head of State further emphasised the need for evidence of misconduct and highlighted the reason for the national recount.
“The question of sanctions could only be applied if there is any evidence or proof of wrongdoing and the reason why we’re in the present situation of having a recount is to assure our own people and the international community that the government has behaved properly.”
The diplomatic community has repeatedly sounded the warning after there was a departure from the legally established mode of calculating the votes for District 4 – the country’s largest electoral district.
The tabulation of those votes by Region 4 Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo handed the President’s party a victory, but observers and all other contesting parties raised objections on the basis that the numbers were inflated for the Coalition, and deflated for the opposition PPP.
The High Court also ruled that Mingo breached the country’s electoral laws in doing so. The PPP has claimed it won the elections by 15,000 votes and has published Statements of Poll for District Four which it says proves this when added up with the tabulations for the other nine electoral districts.
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