A group of Guyanese based in the United Kingdom have written to the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab. And have called for personal sanctions against those who are attempting to rig the elections in Guyana. “At this important juncture a strong statement with cross party support would be very welcomed. We deeply appreciate your support for democracy in Guyana,” the communication said.

Further, the missive, dated Wednesday (May 20, 2020) said, “We are a group of concerned individuals of Guyanese origin living in the United Kingdom who would like to provide an update regarding Guyana’s election crisis and current recount which include some alarming developments. “ In this time of COVID-19 and global economic shutdown the Guyanese people have been without a legitimate goverment since a non confidence vote brought down the APNU+ AFC government in December 2018 and there is still no result after the March 2, 2020 election due to clear attempts at rigging.

So far the recount has identified 52 examples of fraud with the Statement of Recount indicating votes for APNU+AFC were inflated by 2827 and votes for the PPP/C were reduced by 718 in Region 4 with only 165 of the 879 ballot boxes for Region 4 having been recounted to date. APNU+AFC has not remotely acknowledged any such fraud and continue to blatantly promote a false narrative that they have won the election taking the country further into a quagmaire of instablity and unrest. They still have not released their copies of the Statement of Polls from the night of the election provided to all parties and viewed by international observers that clearly show a victory for the PPP/C of which the recount is confirming.

“APNU+AFC leaders Mr. David Granger, Mr. Joe Harmon and others who do not want to see demoracy in Guyana are levelling accusations of interference at the international observers and have prevented the Carter Centre from returning to observe the recount by weaponizing the COVID-19 pandemic. These observers, including those in official capacity representing the OAS and the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and the European Union (ABCE Countries), have done nothing but state facts regarding their observations of the elections and recount with the ABCE Countries confirming that the original tabulation of results by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was not credible and any government installed on the basis of that tabulation or without tranparent and credible election results shall not been seen as legitimate and therefore face sanctions.

The duplicity of Mr. Granger and APNU+AFC leadership in this regard is glaring. Instead of acknowlegding the clear fraud in Region 4 and that a fair recount that recognises the will of the people will ensure the country will not suffer under sanctions they are determined to ignore the international community, promote a false narrative that they won the elections, undermine and slow down the recount process, and still blatantly draw down from the public purse all at the expense of the Guyanese people.

“Furthermore, GECOM Chair Claudette Singh and CEO Keith Lowenfield also continue to demonstrate their duplicity and complicity in the rigging. They have been silent on the revelations of clear fraud in the tabulation of results from Region 4 provided by the recount, continue to allow APNU+AFC to frustrate and trash the recount process with frivolous allegations, and have been supporting extreme sloth in the recount process. GECOM still has the fraudulent declaration of results on their website and recently promoted a GECOM staff worker to SUPERVISE the tabulation of Region 4 results when there are well founded concerns that this individual is complicit in the rigging.”

The letter was copied to other UK lawmakers and officials, including: Rt. Hon Sir Edward Davey; Rt. Hon Alistair Carmichael; Rt. Hon Tim Farron; Rt. Hon Sarah Olney; Rt. Hon Catherine West; Rt. Hon Fabian Hamilton; Rt. Hon Lloyd Russell- Moyle; Rt. Hon Barry Gardiner; Rt. Hon Kelvin Hopkins; Sir Keir Starmer; Rt. Hon Lisa Nandy; Baroness Lindsay Northover; Lord Loomba CBE; Lord Ahmad; Baroness Sal Brinton; Baroness Judith Jolly; Lord Tony Greaves; Baroness Sarah Ludford; and Baroness Shas Sheehan; Lord Foulkes of Cummock. The British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, was also copied.

The Guyanese based in the UK also called for the Government of the United Kingdom and its international partners take the strongest possible action to condemn the accusations of interference levied by President David Granger and APNU+AFC.

Already, Raab has talked about sanctions and international condemnation. On March 24, 2020, he said, “The transition of government in Guyana should only take place in line with transparent and democratic principles that lead to credible results. Any government sworn in on the basis of non-credible results will face strong international condemnation. If the situation continues to deteriorate, this international response will include a range of serious consequences for those concerned.” Other international organizations have also issued stern warnings, including the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States (OAS).

One can only hope that some of these officials and stakeholders have enough of an interest to avoid the incumbents from steamrollering over the general population who voted ‘other’!! The Guyana 2020 Elections Recount should be monitored and sanctions applied if the elections commission plan is deviated from under law!!