Only credible elections recount could stave off sanctions – Jagdeo tells Granger

The ongoing recount of the March 2 elections provides an opportunity for caretaker President David Granger to prevent sanctions from being imposed on Guyana, providing that the recount process is deemed credible and is accepted by the international community.

This is the view of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who lamented that there were still attempts by some elements involved in the vote recount to prevent the process from being completed in a transparent manner.
“The recount is the only chance to avoid sanctions,” Jagdeo told media operatives during a virtual media conference on Tuesday.

Reminding that it was Granger himself, who advocated for sanctions in 2014 when then President Donald Ramotar had prorogued the Parliament, the PPP General Secretary said that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) leader was very much aware of the damage sanctions could cause Guyana.
Much controversy erupted following Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent declaration on two occasions, in the full view of international and local observers, party representatives and the entire diplomatic community.
After the fraudulent figures were presented by Mingo using a mysterious spreadsheet, all the observers labelled the results as lacking credibility.
International powers – the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union – had warned that sanctions would be applied if the APNU/AFC leader were to be sworn in on the basis of the questionable results.
Breaking his silence for the first time on mounting calls for sanctions against officials of his administration over electoral fraud, caretaker President Granger admitted that if the international community were to move ahead in this regard, Guyana could be severely affected.
“Sanctions could harm Guyana in a very serious way,” Granger said on a local radio programme.
He said that those who call for sanctions must consider that they would be “extremely damaging” on the country for a very long time and he did not take such calls lightly.
“I do not take these as empty threats, and I would not like to see those sanctions inflicted on my country, on my people,” the caretaker President said.
In relation to Granger’s call for evidence that there were “malpractices” by his party officials that could warrant such drastic measures, Jagdeo said there was solid proof that Mingo’s spreadsheets were fraudulent, as the current national recount is proving this to be so.
Jagdeo pointed to the first declaration by Mingo, which carried the signature of senior party executive Volda Lawrence, saying that no other region’s declaration carried the signature of any party official. This, Jagdeo said, shows that there was involvement by APNU/AFC members at some level in Mingo’s declarations.
He noted that to date, GECOM has still not released the spreadsheets used by Mingo so that a comparison could be made with the current Statements of Recount (SoRs).
Notwithstanding this, Jagdeo said he was optimistic and was hoping that the recount process would be successfully completed in an expeditious manner, so that the country could move forward soon.