Time to honour, respect the will of the people – CIOG to Granger

…calls on GECOM to declare elections results

The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) has joined mounting calls for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to fulfil its constitutionally mandated duty and declare the winner of the March elections as soon as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) delivers a ruling.

On Monday, the organisation lauded the degree of patience shown by the Guyanese population in waiting months for a winner to be officially declared. Despite the perspective from international observers that the polls were credible, a declaration is nowhere in sight.
“Guyanese citizens have demonstrated admirable restraint and patience while the election process and its results have been subjected to many stages of overview and review prior to verification. After intense scrutiny, the Caricom Observer Team declared that they were of the ‘unshakeable belief that the people of Guyana expressed their will at the ballot box on March 2.’ To the great credit of our nation, all international and Caricom observers have vouched that Guyana’s 2020 election process was free, fair, and credible,” the CIOG indicated.
For this, it was asserted that the will of the people should now be honoured in order for the country to move forward, adding that in order for this to be done, a declaration from GECOM using the recount statistics should be made. After the National Recount of votes was tallied, the outcome showed a win for the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic.
The statement said, “The Guyanese people should be proud of this accomplishment, for when democracy wins, everyone wins. Now it is time to honour and respect the will of the people as expressed by the majority of the electorate at the polls. It is time to move forward and work unitedly for the well-being and success of the entire nation.”
The Islamic Organisation made urges to the Guyana Police Force to uphold the rule of law in a responsible manner while “simultaneously monitoring and addressing any inflammatory actions in order to serve and protect all Guyanese citizens”.
These calls are compounded by recent statements from other religious organisations such as the Arya Samaj community of Guyana, the Inter-Religious Dialogue and the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha among others.
The Arya Samaj Community had contended that the current stance taken by APNU/AFC Leader David Granger does not encourage better relations among the Guyanese people, nor does it promote peace.
The organisation said to the caretaker Head of State, “By unlawfully holding on to power and misleading your loyal supporters, you are creating an atmosphere of mistrust, hate and fear. When this is over, we as Guyanese will have to live together, help one another and be there for each other…Your present posturing does not bode well for relations amongst Guyanese, for peaceful co-existence and love for each other. It is instead causing more pain especially to your loyal supporters, who are still holding on to your words as a beacon.”
Meanwhile, the IRD recognised the PPP as the “clear winner” and therefore indicated that Granger and his party should concede with dignity.
Its missive had read, “It is without a doubt that the incumbent APNU+AFC party has lost the elections, status as Government and the Presidency.”