Election process has not concluded – Nandlall to Govt

Carter Center’s shutout

…says if accreditations were revoked, then it must be gazetted

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Member, Anil Nandlall on Tuesday again advocated for the return of international observers including from The Carter Center since they have a legal right to be present in Guyana to observe the elections process until its finality.

Nandlall gave the position on Tuesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) continued with the National Recount exercise.

He told reporters encamped at ACCC that the international observers have since expressed an intention to return to Guyana and that they should be facilitated, since the March 2 General and Regional Elections is yet to be concluded.
According to Nandlall, “the election is still ongoing, these organisation were accredited to observe the elections to the very end.”

Adamant that the election process has not been concluded since a final result has not been declared as yet, the former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs under the PPP Administration insisted the overseas observers “have been accredited and have a legal right to be here under the Observer Act.”
He told reporters the international observers were, in fact, given permission by the President of the country and that their accreditations had been supplied by GECOM.
Speaking on the refusal of the Administration to have The Carter Center and other observers return to Guyana, the PPP Executive Member told media operatives if the accreditations for the international observers have been revoked then this should be published in the Official Gazette.
According to Nandlall, “for all intent and purposes, those accreditations are still extant”. He went on to say that the observers are still willing and, in fact, have a duty to be in Guyana to observer the elections.
The PPP Executive noted that in light of efforts being made by the observer teams to return to Guyana, he is hopeful the Administration does not seek to construct any obstacles to further prevent the teams from landing in Guyana.
Additionally, the PPP Executive reminded that the team of observers that have been fielded by the Caribbean Community were committed for a 25-day recount activity and given the slothfulness of the process, he is unsure if the team will stay in Guyana beyond that committed timeline.
Advocating for the international observers’ return, including The Carter Center, Nandlall said: “at end of the day we want a process that must be certified as a credible process, we know of forces that are present and prevailing.”
The PPP’s Executive Member advocating the return of The Carter Center comes on the heels of reports that it was in fact ‘caretaker’ President David Granger who is responsible for the denial of The Carter Center’s return to Guyana.
Guyana Times reported that Foreign Affairs Minister, Karen Cummings in a letter to the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, asked that measures put in place to protect from the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) be respected.
The letter dated May 6, 2020, was written on behalf of Granger and in response to the Ambassador’s request to facilitate the arrival of observers from The Carter Center.
On Saturday Chief Executive Officer of the COVID-19 Task Force, Joseph Harmon denied not approving The Carter Center’s request and noted that they can still re-apply to come.
Since the closure of Guyana’s borders, the US Embassy here has secured special permission from the COVID-19 Task Force for relief flights to repatriate its citizens.
As such, The Carter Center along with representatives from the International Republican Institute (IRI), which had provided technical support to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) during the elections, were hoping to secure permission from the Guyana Government to return to Georgetown on an Eastern Airlines relief flight that was scheduled for Monday last.
However, this permission was not granted and the flight arrived at the CJIA empty.