Saying it was “alarmed” at the developments surrounding the tabulation of votes from the March 2 polls the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), a member of the governing A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, yesterday joined calls being made for a verified recount of ballots cast in all electoral districts, which it said is permitted under the constitution.
The call was made in a statement yesterday in which the party noted that it was fully committed to a resolution of the current post-elections crisis in such a “manner as to allow the country and its people to make the best use of our newfound wealth from our oil and gas resources.”
The party reminded that it has continuously advocated for a political solution to Guyana’s historical problems in the form of a power-sharing government of national unity, which guarantees the major ethnic groups protection against domination by the other.
“It is the foremost reason for our initial and continued membership of the Coalition which we view as a steppingstone towards such a government. We renew that call now in this hour of seeming despair,” it noted, while adding that it continued to be alarmed about the developments surrounding tabulation of the votes.
The inherent logic of competitive elections is “winners and losers,” it noted, while adding that a national unity government with a mandate for constitutional reform ending the present winner takes all governance system is the only way out of our historical entrapment, which hinders economic and social progress as well as racial unity, they argue.
The statement, which is nearly identical to one issued several days ago by the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA), goes on to demand that whichever party wins forms a government of national unity for an agreed period with a clear mandate to complete constitutional reform and end the winner takes all governance system.
“For the avoidance of doubt we welcome CARICOM’s supervision of…a verified recount of all electoral districts as legally permitted under the constitution…in chronological order from one to ten,” it said, while calling on all political parties to accept the results of a recount.
Executive member Dr David Hinds clarified for Sunday Stabroek that for the party, “legally permitted under the constitution” means that the process must be facilitated by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). He further stated that as there is currently a matter in court related to the legality of a proposed recount, it would have to first be settled.
“We do not, in principle, object to such a recount. However, we are guided by the belief that it must be initiated by GECOM subject to the law. WPA wants to also make it pellucidly clear that it does not oppose CARICOM’s observation of a possible recount, but such observation must be subject to parameters that are clearly set out by GECOM. WPA reiterates that the authority of GECOM should not be usurped by any other formal or informal agency,” he explained.
According Hinds, the matter of democratic elections cannot be left to the whims and fancies of overt and covert partisan pronouncements and no single political party or group in Guyana holds the corner on free and fair elections.
“Rather than looking for dead dogs to throw into the neighbour’s yard, Guyana would be better served by a commitment to righting the wrongs in a system that is clearly subject to manipulation by all,” he stressed.
Additionally the party has expressed support for the rights of citizens to seek redress in the courts of law on any related electoral issue and denounced all calls for sanctions being imposed on Guyana.
“These will hurt mostly those who are already hurting from poverty and powerlessness,” it said of sanctions.
Finally, the party has rejected “in all its forms and especially as has occurred since election day politically-directed against children, women and law enforcement personnel.”
The WPA is the second member of the five member APNU to issue a statement calling for a national recount.
On Thursday, the Justice For All Party called on President David Granger “to do the right thing” and allow the recounting process for all ballots from the March 2nd general election.
“We believe in the will of the people -irrespective of which party wins. We believe that the recounting process should be permitted and all ballots should be immediately recounted in an expeditious and transparent manner. Any party that wins through a transparent process will have our support,” it announced.
Stabroek News attempted to contact two other members of APNU with no success. Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Affairs Sydney Allicock who represents the Guyana Action Party (GAP) could not be reached for comment nor could Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott, who represents the National Front Alliance (NFA). The People’s National Congress Reform is the other member of APNU and its largest constituent.
GECOM had undertaken to facilitate a recount, under the supervision of a CARICOM team as agreed to by President David Granger and Opposition Leader. However, the process was derailed by an injunction to block it from proceeding based on an application made by an APNU+AFC candidate.
