In light of Guyana’s recent general elections, a consortium of more than 100 environmental and human rights organisations and eminent persons from around the world have issued a statement calling on ExxonMobil and other oil companies to declare “unequivocally” that they will only conduct business with a lawfully installed government.
In a March 10th release, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), noted the group is expressing solidarity with the people of Guyana and calls for transparency and for all parties to uphold the integrity of the March 2 election outcomes according to applicable law, and for a peaceful transition once an outcome is verified.
The statement pointed out that since the March 2 election, there have been numerous procedural irregularities, unexplained discrepancies and threats against impartial observers. It also reminded of the High Court hearing on March 10 to consider the legal steps needed to reach a verified outcome and observed that in the interim, the situation led to rising protests across the country, resulting in the death of at least one protestor.