Amidst growing calls by western allies for him to concede defeat at the March 2 polls, caretaker president David Granger has reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to western hemispheric values.
“Guyana’s strategic interests in the Western Hemisphere were not in jeopardy,” Granger was quoted as saying last evening by the Press and Publicity Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency.
A statement issued by this unit last evening referenced an undated interview in which Granger is said to have “emphasised that the United States of America is a friend and has worked closely with Guyana over several decades through several organizations such as The Carter Center, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), among others.” “Guyana is part of the Western Hemisphere. We have very cordial relations with the United States from defence, economy and security points of view,” he was further quoted as saying.
The statement acknowledged that Guyana cooperates with the US Southern Command through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is aimed at combating drug trafficking and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security. The de facto Head of State is also said to have reminded that Guyana and the USA have enjoyed mutually beneficial defence, economic, political and social relations since Independence, with relations deepening through cooperation in the fields of defence, public health, public security, the economy and youth empowerment.
Guyana, he noted, remains committed to strengthening its relations with the USA to overcome challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and to continue to build the groundwork for a peaceful and prosperous Western Hemisphere.
On Friday, a group of United States (US) senators urged Granger to honor the will of the Guyanese people at the March 2 polls and concede. They argued that for the sake of the people, the future of democracy and the rule of law in the western hemisphere, the ongoing “uncertainty and gamesmanship must end.”
The call was made by US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, along with Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Ben Cardin (D-MD), another member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, also signed the joint statement.
The legislators have encouraged Guyanese authorities to begin a democratic transition of power that reflects the results of the elections, which have been marred by attempts to use fraudulent tabulations to keep Granger’s APNU+AFC in power. A national recount, for which the government refused to allow the Carter Center to return to observe, has shown the PPP/C secured the most votes. The coalition has alleged instances of voter fraud, which it claims discredits the results.
The senators said they shared the frustration expressed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of American States (OAS), and other international stakeholders at developments here and urged Guyanese authorities to issue an official election declaration that reflects the results of the March 2nd election, which were confirmed in the official recount by CARICOM’s observer mission.
The representatives of the US, UK, Canada and the European Union (EU) here have also voiced concern at the continuing delay in declaring the results of the polls and have maintained that every vote must be reflected in the final declaration.
