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Election P
Carter Center’s shutout Election process has not concluded – Nandlall to Govt
People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Member, Anil Nandlall on Tuesday again advocated for the return of internation al observers including from The Carter Center since they have a legal right to be pres ent in Guyana to observe the elections process until its fi nality.
Nandlall gave the posi tion on Tuesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) continued with the National Recount exer cise.
He told reporters en camped at ACCC that the international observers have since expressed an intention to return to Guyana and that they should be facilitated, since the March 2 General and Regional Elections is yet to be concluded.
According to Nandlall, “the election is still ongoing, these organisation were ac credited to observe the elections to the very end.”
Adamant that the elec tion process has not been concluded since a final re sult has not been declared as yet, the former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs under the PPP Administration insisted the overseas observers “have been accredited and have a legal right to be here under the Observer Act.”
He told reporters the in ternational observers were, in fact, given permission by the President of the coun try and that their accreditations had been supplied by GECOM.
Speaking on the refus al of the Administration to have The Carter Center and other observers return to Guyana, the PPP Executive Member told media opera tives if the accreditations for the international observers have been revoked then this should be published in the Official Gazette.
According to Nandlall, “for all intent and purposes, those accreditations are still extant”. He went on to say that the observers are still willing and, in fact, have a duty to be in Guyana to ob server the elections.
The PPP Executive noted that in light of efforts being made by the observer teams to return to Guyana, he is hopeful the Administration does not seek to construct any obstacles to further pre vent the teams from landing in Guyana.
Additionally, the PPP Executive reminded that the team of observers that have been fielded by the Caribbean Community were committed for a 25-day re count activity and given the slothfulness of the process, he is unsure if the team will stay in Guyana beyond that committed timeline.
Advocating for the inter national observers’ return, including The Carter Center, Nandlall said: “at end of the day we want a process that must be certified as a credi ble process, we know of forces that are present and prevailing.”
The PPP’s Executive Member advocating the re turn of The Carter Center comes on the heels of reports that it was in fact ‘caretak er’ President David Granger who is responsible for the de nial of The Carter Center’s return to Guyana.
Guyana Times report ed that Foreign Affairs Minister, Karen Cummings in a letter to the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, asked that measures put in place to protect from the spread of the novel coronavi rus (COVID-19) be respected.
The letter dated May 6, 2020, was written on behalf of Granger and in response to the Ambassador’s request to facilitate the arrival of observers from The Carter Center.
On Saturday Chief Executive Officer of the COVID-19 Task Force, Joseph Harmon denied not approving The Carter Center’s request and noted that they can still re-apply to come.
Since the closure of Guyana’s borders, the US Embassy here has secured special permission from the COVID-19 Task Force for re lief flights to repatriate its citizens.
As such, The Carter Center along with represen tatives from the International Republican Institute (IRI), which had provided techni cal support to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) during the elec tions, were hoping to secure
…says if accreditations were revoked, then it must be gazetted PPP Executive Member Anil Nandlall Chairperson of The Carter Center Board of Trustees, Jason Carter
AWest Coast Demerara (WCD) businesswom an and her daughter were attacked and robbed by four armed masked bandits who invaded their property on Sunday.
The men managed to es cape with an undisclosed sum of cash, a quantity of gold jewellery and several pieces of electronic devices.
Based on reports re ceived, the 60-year-old businesswoman of Uitvlugt Estate Road, WCD, and her 23-year-old daughter, a housewife, were alone in the house at the time of the rob bery.
On the day in question at about 05:30h, the woman was sweeping her yard when the four masked men con fronted and started to choke her. They then dealt several cuffs to the woman’s face.
One of the men was armed with a handgun, an other carried a hammer and the two others were armed with knives. The older wom an was then dragged into her house by one of the bandits while his accomplices fol lowed.
Upon entry, the suspect armed with the hammer rushed towards the woman’s daughter and held onto her by the neck. He then placed the hammer towards her head and threatened to bash her head if she did not say where the money and jewel lery were.
Fearful for her life and that of her daughter, the businesswoman handed over an undisclosed sum of cash and several pieces of jewel lery.
The bandits also relieved the businesswoman of her cellular phones – a Samsung A20 and a Samsung A30.
One of the suspects also took the 23-year-old’s Samsung S6 mobile phone and her Amazon Fire 7 Tablet.
The men later made good their escape on foot. After the men left, the two wom en raised an alarm and the police were contacted. The house was dusted for finger prints as the police continue their investigations. No ar rests have been made. Armed bandits terrorise, rob businesswoman, daughter
Caretaker President David Granger
permission from the Guyana Government to return to Georgetown on an Eastern Airlines relief flight that was scheduled for Monday last.
However, this permis sion was not granted and the flight arrived at the CJIA empty.
National elections recount Bipartisan US Members of Congress up pressure for Carter Center’s return to Guyana …urge accurate counting of every vote
Agroup of United States Members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties, have joined calls for The Carter Center, hitherto blocked by the President himself, to return to Guyana to observe the recount.
The joint statement came from representatives Albio Sires, Gregory Meeks and Sanford Bishop of the Democratic party and Francis Rooney, Jeff Duncan and Jenniffer GonzálezColón of the Republican party.
On Tuesday they urged the Guyana Government to facilitate the return of The Carter Center, which was here for the March 2 elections but has since found itself locked out in the cold and unable to return.
Congressman Albio Sires
Welcoming the recount, the Members of Congress lauded the presence of Caricom but also pointed to the benefits of having The Carter Center. According to them, both The Carter Center and the technical advisory team from the International Republican Institute should return.
“We appreciate the vital role that the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has played in advancing democratic principles in Guyana. At the same time, we urge the Government of Guyana to allow the observation team from The Carter Center and technical advisory team from the International Republican Institute to return to the country to join Caricom in observing the recount pro
Congressman Gregory Meeks
cess.”
That being said, the six congressional colleagues expressed their support for the process and a democratic conclusion to the recount exercise. They also stressed the importance of every vote being counted accurately.
“We welcome the decision to initiate a vote recount in Guyana and reiterate our bipartisan commitment to supporting a fully transparent election process that reflects the will of the Guyanese people,” they articulated in their statement.
“We remain dedicated to ensuring that the Guyanese people are free to exercise their right to vote, that their votes are counted accurately, and that they are able to shape a democratic and prosperous future for their
Congressman Sanford Bishop
country,” they also said.
Back in January, Congressmen Sires and Meeks had come to Guyana, where they held meetings with caretaker President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. During their meeting with Jagdeo, he had raised the various concerns the Opposition had leading up to the elections.
Additionally, the US Congress members had met with executives of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana (AmCham Guyana).
It was only on Monday that a letter surfaced from Foreign Affairs Minister
Congressman Francis Rooney
Karen Cummings, written on the President’s behalf and addressed to US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann-Lynch, where Cummings cites Guyana’s decision to close its airspace from commercial traffic due to COVID-19, as the reason that the Government cannot allow The Carter Centre to return.
The Minister said in the letter that the Government of Guyana wishes for the US to respect these measures.
The recount started last week without The Carter Center here to observe it, even though the team and the US Embassy requested permission for them to come.
Stakeholders have also clamoured for their presence and the additional transparency it would
Congressman Jeff Duncan
bring. Both Canadian and US Governments have been making similar calls with respect to the Center being allowed to observe the ongoing National Recount.
Various explanations have been given, the latest one from COVID-19 Task Force CEO Joseph Harmon.
Harmon claimed he was surprised when The Carter Center did not come and told the media that they were neither granted or denied permission. Harmon had also indicated that they can reapply to come. However, his comment came one day after caretaker Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan said that it was President David Granger who denied the request and not the National COVID-19 Task Force.
