PSC, GCCI slam Police’s growing hostility towards party agents, observers

Leaders in the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) have come out in criticism of the role played by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in evicting party agents from the location where they were keeping watch over the ballots.
In a video message on Tuesday, PSC Chairman, Retired Captain Gerry Gouveia questioned who gave the orders to the Police. According to Gouveia, party agents had a legitimate right to be at the location and therefore, the actions of the Police are questionable.
Gouveia noted that up until the fumigation crew and the Police arrived, the process of waiting for the recount was a peaceful one. Some party agents were in the compound while others were camped outside. When the fumigation crew came, however, the first effort was made to clear the area.
The PSC later reinforced its Chairman’s message in a statement on Wednesday, in which it urged the Police to act in an impartial way. According to the Commission in its statement, it has observed instances where the Police Force seemed to be acting under direct political instructions.
“In particular, members of the Commission and its Elections Observers witnessed the deliberate and forceful intervention of heavily armed Police in preventing the oversight of the Statements of Poll at GECOM by physically removing accredited political party representatives, accredited observers, including Private Sector observers, and the members of the media. This resulted in the exposure of the Statements of Poll to possible fraudulent alteration.”

Attempted arrest
The PSC also recalled that on Monday night, the Police attempted to arrest a Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Robeson Benn, despite his legal right to be present at the location overseeing the ballot boxes.
It was only recently that Police Commissioner Leslie James had announced that he would have an open-door policy to treat directly with concerns from the general public. Despite this, however, the PSC noted that repeated phone calls to the Commissioner have failed to get through to him.
“Further, the PSC cites the complete failure of the Police to prevent mass crowds of the governing party’s political supporters actively harassing and threatening accredited observers, party officials, and media professionals in the course of their respective functions both outside of GECOM and at other places.”
“The PSC now calls upon the Commissioner of Police to execute his duties as head of the Guyana Police Force to ensure that every member of the Force acts in accordance with its mandate set out in Article 197 (4) of the Constitution of Guyana and the provisions of the Police Act, Cap. 16:01. The PSC remains ready and available to engage the Commissioner on these matters,” it said, going on to remind of the wide range of organisations it represents.

GCCI
The GCCI, which was an accredited observer during the recent elections, also expressed concern in a statement on Wednesday. According to the Chamber, it is concerned over the growing hostility from the Police towards accredited party agents and observers.
According to the GCCI, they witnessed the Police threaten party agents with arrest when they questioned why they were being evicted from the Conference Centre. GCCI, which is headed by businessman Nicholas Boyer, therefore, urged the Police to cease the acts of intimidation and exercise restraint, and called on all right-thinking Guyanese to denounce such actions.
“Members of the GCCI’s electoral observer team were present on the evening of March 16th 2020, at the compound of the Arthur Chung International Conference Centre (ACICC) when a group of accredited observers and party agents who had convened a peaceful gathering outside of the building were confronted by Riot Police and forced to leave the premises.”
The GCCI, added that it could confirm that the observers and party representatives who attempted to question ranks and gain clarity on the orders were subsequently threatened with incarceration.
“The GCCI condemns all attempts of intimidation by the GPF as such actions set an uncomfortable precedent for the treatment of those involved in elections observation, and also brings the GPF’s professionalism and impartiality into question.”