Top US Senators join calls for international observers to return to Guyana

…remind Granger of special permission to ExxonMobil for workers

A number of top United States Senators have added their voices to the calls for caretaker President David Granger to allow the Carter Center and other observers to return to Guyana for the recount, reminding him that his Government has given special permission for flights.

The letter was signed by Senators and former US presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio and Tim Kaine. Also signing on to the letter are Senators Benjamin Cardin, James Risch, and Robert Menendez.

In the letter, they acknowledged Guyana’s decision to close its airspace, but note that Guyana has been giving permission for flights in special circumstances. These special circumstances have included the transport of Caricom observers and ExxonMobil workers.

“As friends of Guyana, we are closely monitoring the recount and support that it be conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner. A crucial part of this process is that credible international observers be allowed to return to Guyana and be given free and unfettered access to all aspects of the recount in order to confirm the integrity of the process,” the Senators wrote.

According to the Senators, with full respect for Guyana’s public health measures, they are hopeful that the Government will consider the presence of additional international observers an essential step to strengthening the credibility of the recount.

According to them, Granger’s leadership is critical at this time in ensuring Guyana remains prosperous. Moreover, the Senators are hopeful that Granger will work to leave a legacy of securing a better future for Guyanese.
“In the midst of the challenges the world is facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Guyana is on the verge of historic change and prosperity. Decisions made today will determine whether or not the Guyanese people enter this new era united and confident that their political institutions fairly and equitably reflect their will,” the Senators said.
They added that they support a fair and transparent recount of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections “to allay any concerns among the Guyanese people in the integrity of their democratic institutions, in line with Guyana’s successful democratic electoral transitions of the past three decades”.
It was only on Monday that a letter surfaced from Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Karen Cummings, written on the President’s behalf and addressed to US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, telling the US to respect Guyana’s wishes to close its airspace owing to COVID-19.
The United States Embassy had previously revealed that permission was sought from the National COVID-19 Task Force – which is chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo with Joseph Harmon functioning as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for a flight to land on Monday, May 4, and for the observers from the Carter Center to be allowed entry into Guyana on that flight.
In response, the Task Force only approved the arrival of the flight and not the observers. The observer from the Carter Center was left in Miami as a consequence. Only a short while before, a British Airways Boeing 787 was chartered to transport rotating ExxonMobil workers to and from the United Kingdom.
That flight was granted special permission to land at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on April 28. On May 1, a Caribbean Community (Caricom) observer team was given special permission to land in Guyana, in order to observe the recount. As per the arrangement, they were pre-tested for COVID-19 in their countries of origin.