British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn yesterday said that the five-month wait for a final declaration from Guyana’s March 2 elections and the blatant attempt to fix the results were both firsts for him in his 25-year career as a diplomat.
“I have been around in this business for 25 years and I have never seen a post-elections process like I have seen here in those 25 years, anywhere,” Quinn told Stabroek News in an exclusive interview yesterday as he continued his preparation to return home after serving five-plus years as High Commissioner here.
Quinn observed that there are fundamental issues that have emerged, including the need for constitutional and electoral reforms, for which he said Guyana’s citizenry has to hold the Irfaan Ali government and all its leaders accountable to ensure that there is no recurrence in 2025. “I like to think more about having the reform process launched now, to ensure that come 2025 you don’t end up in the same situation as you did this time,” he added, while saying that a reconciliation process also needs to be undertaken in the period ahead of the next polls.