USAID vows to stand with Guyanese in fight for democracy to prevail

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) stands with the people of Guyana as the country continues to wait for the official declaration of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. This commitment was expressed by USAID acting Administrator John Barsa, who underscored the importance of democracy and the need for Guyanese to have their voices expressed at the March polls heard.

In a twitter post, Barsa said: “@USAID believes #DemocracyIs essential to advancing a free, peaceful, and prosperous world and we continue to stand with the people of #Guyana, who want their voices heard.” The tweet comes as the international community continues to monitor developments in Guyana’s prolonged electoral process, as the country engages in yet another legal battle – this time to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from making a final declaration.
Back in May during the National Recount of the votes cast on March 2, the USAID Administrator (ag) had said his organisation was looking forward to a “swift, credible, and clear” conclusion of the recount process so that concentration can be placed on both the development needs of Guyana and the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The USAID is one of Guyana’s main international donor partner. In fact, the organisation had provided some US$1.7 million ($357 million) last month to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal is scheduled to hand down its decision on the Notice of Motion filed by APNU/AFC supporter, Esyln David, who is seeking to block the Guyana Elections Commission from declaring the final results.
The Notice of Motion was filed on Thursday by David just as Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield was scheduled to present his final elections report to the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh and the Commission. That report, which Lowenfield failed to submit, would have paved the way for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic to be declared the winner of the March 2 elections and Dr Irfaan Ali to be sworn in as Guyana’s ninth Executive President.