Govt picketed over Carter Center’s denied entry decision

After the denial of permission by the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) for a representative of The Carter Center to come to Guyana to observe the national recount, a number of persons turned up with placards protesting the decision.

Headed by Raghunandan Singh, the protesters stood in front of State House – the President’s official residence, and then moved to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying that the voices of Guyanese must be heard. Holding placards, the group of picketers voiced their wanton dissatisfaction with a number of recent developments that unfolded.
“We are not satisfied with a couple of things especially with them blocking the credible observers to come in Guyana which is The Carter Center. We are not satisfied that they do not want live streaming… We want our voice to be heard in different form, different way and different directions that is what we are looking for,” Singh told this publication.
Singh said the only desire is for the recount to be conducted in a fair and transparent environment, so as to pave the way for a duly elected President.
“We are looking for a process that is above board in satisfaction with keeping with the laws and the agreement that was signed between [David] Granger and Dr Bharrat Jagdeo that good sense must prevail and to ensure that the ballot count accordingly,” the protester highlighted.
On Monday The Carter Center observer, who was ready to travel to Guyana to observe the recount, was left in Miami as the person was unable to board the Eastern Airlines flight to Guyana as a result of the Guyana caretaker Government denying permission.
The US Embassy in Georgetown on Sunday stated that it had sought approval, via official channels, for observers of The Carter Center to board a flight to Guyana but this was denied by the National COVID-19 Task Force headed by caretaker Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
The Embassy said it sent the diplomatic note to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on April 29 seeking permission for flights on May 4, 2020, and May 30, 2020. It also sent a copy of the diplomatic note to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) accompanied by a request to advance the issue to Guyana’s COVID-19 Task Force.
However, the Embassy was informed on Saturday, May 2, that the incoming May 4 flight had been approved by the Task Force, but not the arrival of the observers.
The Embassy also sought the intervention of caretaker President David Granger but there has been no intervention by him. As such, the US, Canadian Governments, and the EU had urged the Government to reconsider its position. The Foreign Affairs Ministry is the official Government agency that responds to such requests. On March 5, three days after the General and Regional Elections, in a move that completely stunned stakeholders and attracted the wrath of at least one Elections Observer Mission, caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings threatened to revoke the accreditation of foreign organisations here to observe the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The threat was issued during a meeting with some observers at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Command Centre at High and Hadfield Streets, Georgetown, amid much commotion following a dramatic delay in the verification of the results for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). Cummings, a candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), was accused of trying to intimidate the international missions that are keenly observing the electoral process in Guyana.
She told the international observers that she was instructed to withdraw their accreditation, but she was not in agreement that it should be done; she did not reveal who gave her those instructions and why.
However, her comments were quickly countered by observers in the room, who argued that her remarks are considered a form of intimidation.