25th of June, 2020. Georgetown, Guyana, South America.
Acting Assistant Secretary for U.S Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Michael G. Kozak, has yesterday, 24th of June, 2020, joined a conglomerate of prominent voices in calling for the results of the recently concluded recount to be used to declare a winner of the March 2, 2020 elections in Guyana, South America.
Guyana’s electorate spoke clearly & respected international observers @OAS_official & @CARICOMorg have 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.
Michael g. kozak – 24th of june, 2020
On the evening of the 23rd of June, 2020, the Organization of American States released a compelling statement advising that the recount results were credible and urged the David Granger Administration to accept the results and concede defeat.
Around the 15th of June, the GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, after much deliberation, and having taken into consideration the CARICOM report as well as the advice of international powers, made the decision to use the results of the recount to declare the winner of the March 2 elections in Guyana, South America.
However, after instructing the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, to prepare a report for submission based on the results of the recount, a private citizen supportive of the APNU/AFC filed an injunction to block the preparation of such a report based on the results of the recount.
The matter was heard on Friday, 19th of June, and the decision was handed down on Monday, 22nd of June. Two out of three judges ruled in favor of the injunction while one, Justice Rishi Persaud, ruled that the Court of Appeal did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case. Further, the GECOM chair had asked the court to throw out the case on the basis that it has no merits.
However, Justice Brassington Renolds ruled that “more votes cast” means “more valid votes cast.” Using this excuse, the CEO prepared a report in which he autonomously removed over 115,000 votes, giving the APNU/AFC coalition a slim victory by about 3000 votes.
The PPP/C quickly move to the CCJ and filed an injunction to block GECOM from declaring a winner based on the fraudulent and somewhat ridiculous report prepared by Mr. Lowenfield. The injunction was granted and the matter is scheduled to be heard on the 1st of July 2020.
Today, the CARICOM Chair, Honorable Mia Mottley expressed great dissatisfaction at the ongoing political crisis taking place in Guyana, noting especially the “gamesmanship” of the APNU/AFC in seeking to derail the electoral process and silence the voices of the people. She reiterated that the results of the recount “must” be used to declare a winner. Her statement was quickly backed up by one from Commonwealth General Secretary, Patricia Scotland, who swiftly supported the stance of CARICOM.
In addition, the US Ambassador to Guyana, Ms. Sarah-Ann Lynch, the Canadian High Commissioner, Ms. Lilian Chaterjee, the British High Commissioner, Mr. Gregg Quinn and the European Union Ambassador, Mr. Fernando Ponz Canto, have all urged the David Granger Administration to accept the results of the recount and allow democracy to prevail in Guyana.
