US digs in on vote recount

…“good diplomacy” not “interference” on democracy

United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, in a scathing statement on Thursday, criticised those who labelled the United States’ calls for democracy to prevail in Guyana as interference in the country’s sovereignty.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch

Several international observers, as well as Governments, have denounced the Region Four results declared by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, citing it as lacking credibility and warning that any government sworn-in based on those results would face “serious consequences”.
In response to this mounting foreign pressure, the caretaker APNU/AFC Government on Saturday last reminded the international community that Guyana is a sovereign state.
However, Ambassador Lynch pointed out the difference between interference and diplomacy when it comes to democracy.
“A common criticism of diplomatic statements during politically charged election cycles is that they amount to “foreign interference.” But in foreign policy, the difference between meddling and practising good diplomacy is that the latter involves sticking to bedrock principles of human rights, good governance, and transparency and, whenever possible, underscoring the values that bind the country you represent to the country in which you serve,” she posited.
According to the U.S. diplomat, Guyana’s March 2. 2020 elections and the events that followed have “quite properly” attracted a lot of attention from the U.S.
She pointed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and noted that Article 21 underscores that “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”
It makes clear that the “will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government”, the U.S. diplomat stated.
Moreover, she outlined that in this hemisphere, Article 3 of the Charter of The Organization of American States (OAS) correctly observes that solidarity among the American States requires “the political organization of those States on the basis of the effective exercise of representative democracy.”
Ambassador Lynch added, “The Guyanese Constitution also underscores democratic principles.”
She went on to further highlight that Guyana has displayed its leadership in defense of representative government recently by joining other Lima Group members from the Americas to strive for a democratic resolution to the crisis in Venezuela.
To this end, the US diplomat reminded that along with 12 other countries, Guyana proclaimed in January 2019, “We reiterate that the electoral process that took place in Venezuela on May 20, 2018, lacked legitimacy as it neither included the participation of all political actors in Venezuela, nor did it have the presence of independent international observers, nor did it comply with the necessary guarantees or international standards for a free, fair and transparent election. Accordingly, we do not recognize the legitimacy of the new presidential term of Nicolas Maduro, or his regime, which commences on January 10, 2019.”
Ambassador Lynch noted that, “such statements are not foreign interference, they amount to good diplomacy by members of the hemisphere’s democratic club. My hope and expectation is that Guyana maintains its good standing as a member of this club by counting all the election day votes through a transparent and credible process. Guyana is certainly not Venezuela; let’s keep it that way.”
The US envoy responded to those who criticised her government for speaking out by suggesting that it first get its own house in order. She said: “To that I respond, democracy, or rule by the people, is almost always noisy. The democratic cacophony is home to our competing values and political identities in the public square. At its heart, democracy is the expression of our freedom to be represented. As such, each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.”
Nevertheless, Ambassador Lynch contended that the U.S. Government is entirely non-partisan about which party wins Guyana’s 2020 elections. She added that the major parties – and the smaller ones too – all offer the opportunity to continue an excellent bilateral relationship based on a shared commitment to supporting improved governance, prosperity, and security in Guyana.
“Let’s get on with that important work,” the diplomat asserted.
The U.S. has been in the forefront of international pressure, calling for a recount to be done to accurately reflect the will of the Guyanese people, who exercised their franchise just over a month ago.
In fact, only two weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the North American powerhouse is closely monitoring the tabulation of votes here.
“…it’s important to note that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate Governments, regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States,” Pompeo had cautioned.