President David Granger has stayed cleared from reaffirming a victory at the March 2 polls, offering instead that Guyana needs an inclusionary form of Government moving forward.
The Head-of-State shared these views on Monday evening during an interview with APNU+AFC activist Mark Benschop on Benschop Radio 107.1.
On February 29 at D’Urban Park during the APNU+AFC’s closing rally, the President had encouraged supporters to show up to the March 2 polls to ensure the coalition wins by a landslide.
“We must win it and win it by a landslide…we are going to beat them into numbness and silence,” he had said.
On Monday however, President Granger abandoned this position and offered that a landslide victory was not anticipated.
“There is no landslide [victory] in Guyana. I did not expect a landslide [victory]. I wanted to win and I’m confident in the work that was put in. But there was not going to be any landslide,” he revealed.
The Head-of-State went further to suggest that no one party should have a monopoly on Guyana and that an inclusionary Government should be a consideration moving forward.
“There needs to be a form of Government that is inclusionary. The [major] parties are near equal. People who win 51% of the votes should not behave as though they won 100%,” he opined.
This comes just two months after his party would have claimed victory at the March 2 polls.
The announcement of a winner of those elections is pending the outcome of an ongoing national recount which is the product of several legal battles.
Unverified results handed the APNU+AFC a victory twice in March, but those were challenged on the basis that the numbers were inflated.
The recount exercise has since revealed that the Returning Officer (RO) of Region 4 – the country’s largest electoral district – Clairmont Mingo inflated numbers for the APNU+AFC and deflated numbers for the PPP, during the tabulation process, to hand the former a victory.
Mingo’s deviation from the legally prescribed procedure for tabulation attracted local and international condemnation. Threats of sanctions from foreign powers also followed, with those countries stating categorically that any Government sworn in on fraudulent results will face sanctions.
During the interview on Monday, the President said that he does not take those warning of sanctions as “empty threats”.
The Head-of-State also dismissed calls for him to be sworn in for a second term based on the figures arrived at by Mingo.
“I can’t swear myself in. I have to receive notification from the Chair of GECOM [the Guyana Elections Commission] that as a result of the ballots cast, that [I have won] with a majority, and I never received such a declaration,” he noted.
On Sunday, after a visit to the recount facility, the President shared with the media that he would abide with whatever decision is made by GECOM after the recount is completed.
As such, he reiterated that it was not for him to have himself sworn in, but that the process must be complied with and a final decision arrived at.
