The Nelson Mandela-founded global peace and human rights non-profit organization, The Elders has also joined the call for a swift electoral declaration based on the national recount results.
“Nearly four months have passed since #Guyana’s elections. The will of the people expressed in the elections and confirmed in the recount must be respected. An electoral declaration based on the recount should be made without delay,” the group posted on its Twitter account last Friday as they shared CARICOM Chairperson and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s latest statement on the situation here.
It is not the first time the organization, of which former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is a member has commented on the political situation here.
The organization had earlier expressed concern at the barring of the Carter Center observers from entering the country to observe the recount process and had said that the swearing in of a president should reflect the will of the people here.
“The Elders continue to view the situation in #Guyana with concern, especially the recent barring of @CarterCenter observers. The will of the people must be respected through the swearing in of a legitimate Government based on the recount’s results,” their earlier tweet had said.
With a “vision of a world where people live in peace, conscious of their common humanity and their shared responsibilities for each other, for the planet and for future generations”, the organization has several notable world leaders as its members. They include former presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, of Liberia, Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Martti Ahtisaari of Finland. Former U.S President and founder of the Carter Center Jimmy Carter is also an elder.
Also among its members are former presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Ricardo Lagos of Chile and first women presidents of Ireland and Norway respectively, Mary Robinson and Gro Harlem Brundtland. The group also includes India’s grassroots and women empowerment pioneer Ela Bhatt, Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus and of Cape Town, South Africa and Graca Machel, the first Minister of Education of Mozambique
“Working both publicly and through private diplomacy, our mission is to engage with global leaders and civil society at all levels to resolve conflict and address its root causes, to challenge injustice, and to promote ethical leadership and good governance”, the group said on its website.
In recent days, the Guyana Elections Commission and the Guyana Government have come under increasing pressure to utilize the results of the 33-day recount of votes as the basis for the declaration of the result. Statements to this effect have come from the Organisation of American States, CARICOM, the US, the UK, Canada, Norway and the European Union and the Commonwealth.
The calls have come following the shocking submission on Tuesday of a report by the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield where he lopped off over 115,000 votes which he claims were not validly cast. The unprecedented report has stirred consternation.
