President David Granger has welcomed the announcement from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that the total national recount will begin on May 6 and urged Guyanese to remain patient as the recount is conducted.
In an address to the nation yesterday, the caretaker President noted that the “entire nation is awaiting the completion of the recount of the ballots and the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission”
“I am satisfied that the hurdles have been cleared for the Elections Commission to conduct the recount and that the Commission’s Secretariat is prepared fully to execute its mandate,” Granger said.
He stressed that while the General and Regional Elections were free, fair and orderly, subsequent events resulted in the prolongation of the electoral process well beyond the deadline for the declaration of results.
Notably, Granger did not address his government’s failure to grant approval for the Carter Center, an accredited election observer to return to Guyana so as to participate in the recount process.
Instead, he reminded that he has repeatedly stated that he shall accept the declaration of the results by the Elections Commission, which will allow for a democratically elected government to be sworn-in to office.
“I have complied always with the rulings of the Courts. I have never interfered, intervened or intruded in the work of the Elections Commission; its independence is respected, and I have upheld always the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, which is the supreme law of the land,” Granger reiterated.
The leader of the APNU+AFC Coalition went on to welcome the CARICOM High-Level Team which has arrived in Guyana to observe the recount process in response to the Commission’s request.
The three-person team arrived in Guyana on Friday and was briefed on their role in the 25-day process on Saturday.
Granger reminded that on March 15 he agreed “that a total recount of the ballots from all electoral districts in Regions One to Ten would take place urgently and in accordance with the Constitution, the applicable law and the judgment of the Court issued by Roxane George Chief Justice (ag.) on Wednesday 11 March 2020.”
He had also agreed that a High-Level Team from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) would be allowed to function within the framework of the Constitution, under the guidance of the Commission and the rulings of the Court.
This team left Guyana when a regional candidate for the Coalition received an injunction stalling the process of recount.
Granger described this situation as “unresolved legal issues related to the national recount.”
Noting that the Courts have since ruled, the President maintained that he is satisfied that the recount can now proceed.
