THE United States has again threatened sanction for persons allegedly engaged in electoral fraud here, although not providing evidence of its claims.
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, made the comments during a news briefing on Tuesday. “The United States is closely monitoring the tabulation of votes in Guyana ….we join the OAS Commonwealth, EU, CARICOM and other democratic partners who are calling for an accurate count. We commend CARICOM’s role in seeking a swift democratic resolution and it is important to note that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate governments/regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States,” Pompeo stated. The US has made similar statements recently regarding Guyana’s election without proffering evidence.
After more than a week of confrontations and legal actions, the votes for District Four for the General and Regional Elections were finally declared by the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, last Friday night, amid heavy police presence at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) High Street, Kingston Headquarters. According to the declaration, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) secured the highest number of votes in both the General and Regional Elections followed by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C).
In the General Elections, APNU+AFC secured 136,057 votes in District Four (Demerara-Mahaica), while the PPP/C raked in 77,231 votes. A New United Guyana (ANUG) secured the third largest number of votes with 1,387 votes, followed by Change Guyana with 919 votes; Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) with 761 votes and The Citizenship Initiative, 463 votes. The People’s Republic Party got 389 votes and The New Movement (TNM) 128 votes, while the United Republican Party only managed to rake in 90 votes.
Meanwhile, in the Regional Elections, the APNU+AFC secured 130,289 votes while the PPP/C raked in 74,877 votes. Change Guyana received 914 votes, while 752 votes were cast in favour of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP); 401 in favour of the People’s Republic Party; 125 in favour of the Victory of the People Party and 98 votes in favour of the United Republican Party. With being declared winner in Region Four, the coalition, based on GECOM’s results, would have won the elections, clinching both the presidency and a one-seat majority in the 65-seat National Assembly. The declaration was challenged by the opposition – PPP and GECOM is still deliberating whether to allow a recount of the votes for all 10 regions.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_18_2020