Following Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield’s decision to disregard the request by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairperson Claudette Singh to submit a report on the outcome of the general elections using the results of the national recount exercise, the Organization of American States (OAS) yesterday said his actions were unjustifiable.
In a statement, the OAS noted that in direct opposition to the instructions of the Chair, Lowenfield submitted a final report which included data compiled prior to the national recount and which had already been deemed to be questionable.
“There can be no justification for this action. As intimated in our statement of July 10, this confirms that the Chief Election Officer is acting in bad faith and contrary to the interest of democracy in Guyana.
Let us be very clear – the only democratic solution for Guyana at this time is respect for the results of the national recount. No other figures – neither those prepared prior to the recount, nor those recently invalidated by the Caribbean Court of Justice, nor any others that may be unilaterally devised by the Chief Election Officer – can have any place in the final determination of results. A new electoral process is also an unacceptable solution,” the body said.
It also noted that Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter states that “The peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it.”
“It is past time that the current leaders of Guyana comply with their democratic responsibilities and allow the newly elected government to take its place,” it further added, while noting that in the coming days, the OAS General Secretariat will report to the OAS Permanent Council on these and other recent developments in Guyana.
Although it did not name Lowenfield, on Friday the OAS said that one of the principal obstacles to the declaration of a result from Guyana’s March 2 elections 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 Singh.
The body said 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,” it added, while reiterating a previous position that GECOM should exclude 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 from current and all future electoral processes.
“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,” it added.
