Neighbouring Brazil yesterday upped the ante on the Granger administration by calling for respect of the popular will at the March 2nd general elections in line with the CARICOM supervised recount of votes and the recent ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Brasilia’s position adds to the growing international chorus for the embattled and discredited Granger administration to accept the result of the recount which shows a clear victory for the opposition PPP/C.
In a statement, the Bolsonaro government, called on “Guyanese political forces” to prepare for transition to a new government as delaying the process further threatens stability in this country.
“Four months after the election, the Brazilian government considers that delaying the conclusion of the electoral process poses a serious threat to stability in Guyana and a departure from the democratic commitments that the country must observe in the regional and hemispheric context,” the statement, posted on Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website said.
It added, “The Brazilian government calls on Guyanese political forces to respect the popular will emanating from the elections, in line with the recent (judgment) of the Caribbean Court of Justice, in order to guarantee the prompt official announcement of the country’s new representatives”.
The Brazilian government said that it has been monitoring the pre and post elections situation and it endorses the conclusions of the CARICOM electoral observation mission regarding the smoothness of the recount procedure. Brazil said that it also endorses the calls made by the Community and the Organization of American States for the conclusion of the electoral process.
“Likewise, Brazil adds to the statements of CARICOM, the OAS, the European Union, the United States, the United King-dom, and Canada, pointing out the absence of impediments to the declaration of final results based on the votes cast in the recount process,” the statement said.
“The Brazilian government calls on Guyana, an Associated State of MERCOSUR, to remain among the South American nations committed to the highest democratic principles,” it added.
Caretaker President David Granger has boasted of Guyana and Brazil’s long enjoyed bilateral relations, since the establishment of diplomatic ties some 51 years ago.
“Guyana and Brazil share a common vision of the continent of South America as a zone of peace,” Granger added, while noting that the two countries also share a common interest in preserving the “Guiana Shield” and expressed the importance of Brazil and Guyana working together to explore sustainable pathways of environmental protection,” Granger had said last December when he accepted letters of credence to accredit Brazil’s new ambassador to Guyana, Maria Clara Duclos Carisio.
According to Granger, Guyana is appreciative of the assistance it has received from the government of Brazil over the years in civilian and military technical cooperation projects. He had cited the Brazilian Cooperation Agency’s Technical Cooperation Project: Capacity Building in Institutional and Policy Structures for Water Resources Management in Guyana in 2019, which provided training for Guyanese technicians by the National Water Agency of Brazil and the Complementary Agreement to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation signed in 2017, which resulted in the successful drilling of eight artesian wells, by the Brazilian Army’s 6th Construction Engineering Battalion in the Rupununi Region as among the many cooperation projects undertaken.
Brazil is a key ally for Guyana in this country’s border controversy with Venezuela.
In 2019, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge said that he was optimistic about Guyana/Brazil relations under Bolsonaro and that the relationship with Brasilia remains a priority.
