…says declaration prevents further int’l embarrassment
The Organisation of American States (OAS) has lauded Guyana for finally concluding its five-month-long election process, making it clear that with the swearing-in of President Irfaan Ali on the basis of the will of the people, democracy has prevailed.
OAS General Secretary Luis Almagro
At one point, while the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government persisted in subverting the will of the people, there was a real possibility that Guyana could be expelled from the OAS.
In a statement on Sunday, the organisation lauded the people of Guyana and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for finally concluding the process. They also heaped special praise on GECOM Chair, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, for discharging her job in accordance with the Constitution.
“The Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, congratulated the new President of Guyana on his election. We are happy that the multiple calls by the General Secretariat, national stakeholders and bilateral and multilateral partners, for the genuine results of the elections to be respected, were heard by GECOM.”
Additionally, the OAS congratulated the people of Guyana for their patience. “We also congratulate the GECOM Chair, Justice ret’d Claudette Singh, for remaining true to her convictions and standing firm against the many efforts to undermine the will of the people,” the organisation also said.
According to the OAS, democracy was put to the test but in the end, democracy prevailed. The organisation also reminded everyone that Guyana still has work to do in filling the gaps in its electoral system. As an observer in the elections, the OAS revealed that its final report on the elections will seek to address this.
“Democracy in Guyana was put to the test in this process. Although it ultimately prevailed, it is clear that there are weaknesses in Guyana’s electoral system that must be addressed. In the coming months, we will issue our final report on the 2020 process with recommendations that can assist in addressing these weaknesses and avoiding a similar situation in the future.”
On July 21, Guyana was brought before OAS Permanent Council, where all member states present took a unified position that the democratic will of the people must be respected and APNU/AFC ran a gauntlet of rebukes for denying the will of the people.
Some of the strongest words came from Bradley Freden, who spoke on behalf of United States representative to the OAS, Carlos Trujillo. Freden questioned whether APNU/AFC wants Guyana to be a leader in the hemisphere or an international disgrace. He urged that they make the right choice. “There’s no way to minimise how flagrant the actions of Guyana’s leaders have been… if the stalemate continues, it will only be the Guyanese people who suffer. APNU and its leaders face a stark choice. Does the party, does Guyana want to be a leader in the hemisphere and an example of democracy? Or does it want to be an international pariah?” he had told the Council.
During the Permanent Council meeting, Almagro had made it pellucid that democracy must be upheld in Guyana and 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.
While making his virtual appearance to the OAS Permanent Council on behalf of the former Government, former Attorney General Basil Williams had erroneously claimed that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) did not rule that the recount results must be used as the basis for the elections declaration.
However CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders, in delivering the court’s judgement on July 8 in the Irfaan Ali et al v Eslyn David et al case, had said that “Unless and until an election court decides otherwise, the votes already counted by the recount process as valid votes are incapable of being declared invalid by any person or authority.”
The OAS was expected to meet again on the unresolved political situation in Guyana if it was not resolved after the Court of Appeal’s Thursday ruling in Jones v GECOM et al. This could have possibly led to a resolution that could have had unpleasant consequences for Guyana. However, the court’s ruling on Thursday paved the way for the GECOM Chair to declare Irfaan Ali the President on Sunday.
