Several international observer groups plan to stay in Guyana until elections results are declared.
From the sidelines of the High Court where they were present to observe the current elections case being heard by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, representatives of the Commonwealth, Organization of American States, and the European Union (EU) Election Observa-tion Mission yesterday told the Stabroek News that they will remain in Guyana until the current case is completed and elections results are declared.
The EU’s observation mission plans to stay in Guyana until March 31.
Efforts to contact Jason Carter, head of the Carter Center mission here, proved futile as messages sent to him were not answered.
However, he had last week said that the Center’s mission planned on being in Guyana until after the official declaration of results.
All four of the international observer groups have said that the results of the general and regional elections cannot be credibly declared unless the count for Region Four is lawfully completed.
In a joint statement on Friday, they said the tabulation of results for the election in Region Four was interrupted and remains incomplete. “The law requires that tabulation must be conducted in the presence of party agents and observers,” they pointed out, while adding that until this transparent process takes place, the counting of votes recorded for the region remains incomplete.
Their statement came a day after the seven of the parties that contested the general elections rejected the release of the unverified results for the region by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) without the completion of the verification of the count from the Statements of Poll.
In their statement, the international observers declared that transparent tabulation of results for the region must be resumed in order to proceed to the establishment of national results and added that a calm and conducive environment must be provided by the police even as they urged all political parties to adhere to the codes of conduct signed by them.
“The Guyana Elections Commission, including the chairperson, the commissioners, the chief election officer, the returning officer and deputy returning officers in Region 4, must be available and committed to establish the results for Region 4 in accordance with the law,” they said.
“Until this occurs, the result of these elections cannot be credibly declared,” they added.
“The process is not over…There is an opportunity that GECOM has to reestablish and salvage the process and have credible elections,” The Carter Center’s Co-Chair, Jason Carter, had later added at a press conference.
He stressed that the Election process is still ongoing and that there was a possibility for a recount in District Four similar to the recounts that are ongoing in Districts Five and Six.
Carter had also called on the Commission to be clear and speak out about what is going on.
GECOM Chair Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh and Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield have been silent on GECOM’s decision to release results on Thursday although the tabulation was still ongoing.
Singh has since said that she awaits the ruling.
