Appeal must not be abused to defer the will of the people – OAS Secretary General

Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, has reiterated the call for the Guyana Elections Commission to declare the results of the March 02 General and Regional Elections using the figures of the National Recount, while adding that the process of appeal should not be abused.

“The right of appeal is a privilege that should not be abused, especially in deferring the will of the people. Guyana has spoken. GECOM must declare results based on the recount,” Almagro said in a tweet on Thursday night.
The General Secretary’s tweet came following the unanimous verdict of the Court of Appeal in the case of Misenga Jones v GECOM et al.
Last Tuesday, the OAS Permanent Council met to discuss the election situation in Guyana, and Almagro, making it pellucid that democracy must be upheld in Guyana, had urged that the Judiciary stop being the refuge of those who want to do nothing more than delay the declaration of results of the General and Regional Elections.
“The current situation serves no purpose in Guyana. We call to stop using the Judiciary branch to avoid bringing a solution to the country. It’s time to make decisions and protect democracy and the will of the people expressed in the elections,” Almagro had said.
He had noted that there should be an acceptance of the results to facilitate a peaceful transition of Government.
Meanwhile, Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) election mission to Guyana, Bruce Golding, had testified before the OAS Permanent Council that because of the actions of a few who were bent on A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) holding on to power, Guyana has failed the litmus test of democracy.
Golding, in his statement to the Permanent Council, described the political situation as a handful of people refusing to respect the will of the people, which shows that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been elected as the new Government.
Golding, the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, made it clear that the people of Guyana are not to be blamed. In fact, he commended the people of Guyana for their patience over the past four months.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Representative to the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, said that democracy in Guyana is being delayed by a cabal who desperately hold on to power, through the courts if necessary. In his presentation, Sanders highlighted the fact that APNU/AFC’s associates continue to drag out the election process by continuously returning to the court.
The Guyana-born Sanders pointed to acting Chief Justice Roxane George’s comments made last Monday, in which, after throwing out another APNU/AFC supporter’s case, she urged lawyers to stop wasting the court’s time on issues that are res judicata; that is, already adjudicated by the court.
A 33-day National Recount had shown that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 elections with 233,336 votes, while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920. (G2)