U.S State Dept. says electorate spoke clearly; urges declaration of results from recount

The United States has once again joined with international electoral observers and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to call for the conclusion of the 114 days electoral process with the declaration of a winner using the recount results.

Michael Kozak, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. State Department on Wednesday tweeted: “Guyana’s electorate spoke clearly & respected international observers.”

He shared a statement by Chairperson of CARICOM and current Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley who on Wednesday reiterated CARICOM’s ‘unshakeable’ belief that the winner of the elections should be declared from the certified figures from the recount.

Kozak referred to the Organisation of American States which released a similar statement on Monday evening noting that the observers have already certified the recount results as credible.

“We join them in calling for a conclusion to the electoral process in #Guyana & the announcement of a winner,” Kozak noted.

The US Government has repeatedly called on the Guyana Government to respect the will of the Guyanese voters.

The elections were held on March 2, 2020 after several concerns were raised about a fraudulent tabulation of the votes in the largest voting district –Region Four –a national recount was done.

 The recount figures show the opposition PPP won the elections with 233, 336 votes while the APNU+AFC received 217, 920 votes.

But the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield has submitted a final report invalidating 115, 844 votes and giving the APNU+AFC a win of 5,482 votes.