While not naming Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, the OAS today said that one of the principal obstacles to the declaration of a result here is “a person whose duty it is to defend Guyana’s democracy through ensuring respect for the results of elections”.
The OAS statement was a clear reference to Lowenfield and came amid his continued defiance of instructions from GECOM Chair Claudette Singh to present a final result based on the recount of votes.
The OAS said it had already stated on April 15 that such persons should have no part in the current or future electoral processes.
A statement by the OAS follows:
OAS Statement on the Electoral Process in Guyana
In our most recent press statement, on June 23, 2020, the OAS encouraged the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to move forward in concluding Guyana’s electoral process, based on the results of the national recount, and in accordance with the will of the majority of the electorate.
The decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice on July 8, 2020 confirmed that GECOM has the final authority to declare these elections and that the Chief Elections Officer is required to comply with the Commission’s directives in this regard. The OAS notes and commends the instructions of the GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh (ret’d), issued on July 9 and reiterated on July 10, that the Chief Elections Officer should prepare and submit his report using the results generated by the national recount.
Regrettably, developments over the last two days suggest that efforts continue to avoid compliance with these obligations and to further prolong the term of the current government. The OAS notes that one of the principal obstacles to completing Guyana’s current electoral process is a person whose duty it is to defend Guyana’s democracy through ensuring respect for the results of elections. As already suggested in our April 15 press statement on the national recount, GECOM should exclude from the current electoral process, and indeed from all future electoral processes, those persons whose actions display clear partisan bias, and who apply this bias unreservedly in hindering the natural unfolding of the democratic process in Guyana.
A credible conclusion of the 2020 elections is essential if Guyana is to remain a democracy. The OAS will continue to support the efforts of the people of Guyana towards this end.
