News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Mar.16, 2020: There is still no official results on Guyana’s March 2, 2020 elections, which is now heading to a recount.
A CARICOM high level team comprising of four women and one man is in the country to supervise the process. The news comes as Western embassies joined four international observer missions in accusing Guyana’s electoral officials of subverting the vote count after the March 2 general elections and as US Senator Rick Scott said “Guyanese authorities must respect the will of their citizens and the courts.”
“Stealing elections will result in nothing but isolation,” he tweeted. “Guyana’s future is bright but only if it remains democratic.”
CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados announced on Saturday that Guyana’s caretaker President David Granger of the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change, (APNU/AFC), had requested that the Caribbean Community field an independent high-level team to supervise the recounting of the ballots in all regions. This was agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo of the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic).
The team is chaired by the former Attorney-General and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dominica Francine Baron, and comprise former Minister of Finance of Grenada Anthony Boatswain; Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government of UWI Cynthia Barrow-Giles; Chief Electoral Officer of Barbados Angela Taylor; and Chief Elections Officer of Trinidad and Tobago Fern Narcis-Scope.
The international community is hoping CARICOM can help bring an end to the election crisis as US officials have like Michael G. Kozak, the Acting Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, tweeted: “Democratic nations can’t ignore this blatant disregard for rule of law. The world is watching. There is still time. Respect the will of the Guyanese people to choose their leader.”
