Stop misusing Judiciary to delay declaration – OAS General Secretary

…Guyana has failed litmus test of democracy – Bruce Golding
…democracy being denied in Guyana – Sir Ronald Sanders

General Secretary of the Organisation of American States, Luis Almagro on Tuesday made it pellucid that democracy must be upheld in Guyana and 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.
The General Secretary made his position known at the OAS Permanent Council meeting convened to discuss the political situation in Guyana.

“The current situation serves no purpose in Guyana. We call to stop using the Judiciary branch to avoid bringing a solution to the country. It’s time to make decisions and protect democracy and the will of the people expressed in the elections,” Almagro said.
He said that there should be an acceptance of the results to facilitate a peaceful transition of Government.
Meanwhile, Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) election mission to Guyana, Bruce Golding has testified before the OAS Permanent Council that because of the actions of a few bent on A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) holding onto power, Guyana has failed the litmus test of democracy.
Golding, in his statement to the Permanent Council on Tuesday, described the political situation as a handful of people refusing to respect the will of the people, which shows that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been elected as the new Government.

Litmus test
When one considers the many obstacles thrown up by conspirators that include Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) officials and persons in APNU/AFC, Golding made it clear that Guyana gets an F grade as a democracy.

“A litmus test of any democracy is the peaceful and orderly transition of power, if that is so ordained by the will of the people. Sadly, Guyana has failed that test. The people of Guyana are not to be blamed. They expressed their will in a peaceful manner,” Golding said.
“But the pernicious actions of a few have wrought considerable damage to Guyana’s image and reputation. Even if this debacle is soon and satisfactorily resolved, it will perhaps take a generation and significant institutional reform for that damage to be repaired. The people of Guyana did not deserve this.”
Golding, the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, made it clear that the people of Guyana are not to be blamed. In fact, he commended the people of Guyana for their patience over the past four months.

“Elections are held to determine the will of the people. And once the people’s wishes are clearly stated, they must be upheld. The people of Guyana have been patient for much longer than can be reasonably expected, while they await the results of a process that was by all accounts well conducted.”
A 33-day National Recount had shown that the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the March 2 elections with 233,336 votes, while the APNU/AFC coalition garnered 217,920
“These results, but for minor adjustments, reflected the results contained in the original Statements of Poll and conclusively establish the extent to which the results of Region Four were altered to give the APNU/AFC an overall majority,” Golding told the OAS.

Democracy delayed
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s representative to the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, said that democracy in Guyana is being delayed by a cabal who desperately hold on to power, through the courts if necessary. In his presentation, Sanders highlighted the fact that APNU/AFC’s associates continue to drag out the election process by continuously returning to the court.
The Guyana-born Sanders pointed to acting Chief Justice Roxane George’s comments, where after throwing out another APNU/AFC supporter’s case on Monday, she urged lawyers to stop wasting the courts’ time on issues that are res judicata; that is, already adjudicated by the court.

“This new appeal and its consequences could take until September 1, before the full cycle of hearings and judgements end. Democracy is being delayed. And democracy delayed is democracy denied.”
“It should be noted that GECOM has not been able to declare a result for the electoral process, because supporters of APNU/AFC are encouraged to take the matters to the courts again and again and again. Were this not so, GECOM could have made a declaration long ago,” Sanders said.
He informed the OAS that despite genuine efforts from organisations like the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to help Guyana and resolve the election, these efforts have failed. Sanders made it clear that democracy is being threatened and the loss of democracy in Guyana has implications for the entire region.
In fact, Sanders urged the OAS to keep Guyana’s political controversy on the agenda and to return to it and take further action if deemed necessary by the OAS Chairman. While he didn’t specify what form this further action should take, observers have opined that Guyana’s election impasse could see Guyana being expelled from the OAS. (G3)