US, UK, Commonwealth, Canada, EU, says Region 4 results not credible

Mar 06, 2020 News

– urge GECOM, political parties to obey the law

By Mikaila Prince

The Region Four results declared yesterday lack credibility and verification. This was the strong statement put forward by international observer groups such as the Carter Centre, Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) and the Heads of Missions of the United States of America, Britain, Canada and the European Union Delegation to Guyana.

Chairman of the Carter Centre, Jason Carter

Chairman of the COG, Owen Arthur

Chaos erupted yesterday after the Returning Officer (RO) for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, allegedly declared that the APNU+AFC coalition had won Region Four by an enormous margin and essentially had triumphed in the March 2 General and Regional Elections.
However, the international observer groups, foreign Heads of Missions and contesting parties were quick to question the credibility of the results after they highlighted that the final results were not verified using the process of the Statement of Polls.
Head of the Carter Centre, Jason Carter, said to the press that transparency ceased at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Office and the procedures for the verification of the results could not have been identified.

From left: British High Commissioner, H.E. Greg Quinn, U.S. Ambassador, H.E. Sarah-Ann Lynch and EU Ambassador, H.E. Fernando Ponz Canto

Carter stated that, “Nobody knows if these results are verified or not. There is still an opportunity for this to be transparent and for the elections to gain credibility and we urge all, including GECOM, to abide by the provisions that are available for the verification of the results.”
He added that both of the major parties claimed victory, but they should want to do so in a credible way. “We have not had transparency and we maintain that the Region Four results lack credibility,” the Carter Centre Head maintained.
Further to this, Carter said that these sentiments were communicated to GECOM Head, Justice (retired) Claudette Singh. In addition to this, the official said he is not of the view that the observers are there to babysit the process, but they do see a lack of credibility, and as observers, they will make their findings known at all times.
Carter said that he and his officials will remain in Guyana to oversee the entire process.
As for the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG), another one of the international missions who monitored Guyana’s General and Regional Elections, its members shared the concerns of the Carter Centre.
In a statement to the press last night, the COG disclosed that it had a consistent presence at the Office of the Returning Officer in Region Four. Owen Arthur, the Former Prime Minister Barbados and Head of the Observer Group, was keen to note that he personally visited the office to ensure that there was transparency in the process.

“It is the clear view of the Group that the tabulation of the final election results has not yet been completed and verified according to the established procedures and relevant legal and statutory provisions.”
Arthur further added that, “We strongly urge the Guyana Elections Commission and all parties involved to ensure the process properly follows the legal steps dictated by the laws of Guyana, and is in line with the country’s international commitments.”
With regard to the international heads of missions – British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn; Canadian High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee; Ambassador of the European Union, Fernando Ponz Canto; and Ambassador of the United States of America, Sarah-Ann Lynch -they observed GECOM’s proceedings at the Region Four Office and noted that in fact, the full count was not completed.
The ABC-EU missions emphatically stated that, “We question the credibility of the Region Four results published by GECOM today.”
They went on to say that, “We urge the Guyana Elections Commission, and all relevant actors, to expeditiously complete the tabulation on the basis of the statement of polls.”
All of the parties have called on Guyanese to remain calm and patient, and for all leaders to exercise responsibility and restraint.

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