OAS calls for peaceful transition of government

With a few more days left for the national vote recount and the PPP on course to win, the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday called for a peaceful transition of government.

“The people of Guyana have been patient and they now deserve a peaceful transition of government based on the majority vote as reflected in the recount and in support of democracy and the rule of law, which all OAS member states expect to be upheld,” the OAS said in a statement.

It said that despite some inconsistencies in the electoral materials reviewed during the recount, as is normally the case in any electoral process, the OAS Mission has no reason to doubt that the results emanating from the recount will be credible.

“A declaration based on these results would lead to the installation of a legitimate government,” the OAS stated.

The OAS said its International Election Observers have been present at the recount center – the Arthur Chung Conference Center – each day of the national recount.

Those observers have reported that the review of the ballot boxes was conducted in a professional, transparent and impartial fashion, which allowed members of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), political parties and other stakeholders to accurately determine the results for each polling station.

The OAS noted that on the invitation of President David Granger and with the agreement of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, the recount was also conducted in the presence of three high-level and well-respected scrutineers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

“OAS recalls that both President Granger and Dr. Jagdeo have agreed to accept the results of the recount, as conducted by GECOM and scrutinized by CARICOM, as final,” the Secretariat stated.

Cognizant of the several challenges experienced in the 2020 electoral process, particularly concerns about the presence of inaccurate information, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission had repeatedly requested copies of the Statements of Poll prepared at each polling station on election night, and the Statements of Recount prepared during the current process, in order to do its own analysis of the original and the recounted results.

“Access to these materials is guaranteed by the electoral procedures agreement signed between the OAS and GECOM on February 26, 2020,” the OAS stated, but “regrettably GECOM has refused to provide the Mission with these important documents.”