16th of July, 2020. Georgetown, Guyana, South America.
In a teleconference today, 16th of July, 2020, US Ambassador to Guyana, Ms. Sarah-Ann Lynch, emphasized that there will be serious consequences for those undermining democracy in Guyana. She was referring in particular to officials and supporters of the David Granger Administration who have been refusing to accept the results of the March 2, 2020 elections and who have even gone as far as trying to declare fraudulent results.
This warning comes a day after the United States revoked the visas of a number of officials and supporters of the APNU/AFC government. The ambassador said that, due to privacy policies, she is not authorized to release the names of those persons (APNU/AFC officials and supporters) slapped with visa restrictions but that those persons will be informed when they attempt to travel to the United States. On this note, she says that the visa restrictions have already taken effect.
The Most Legitimate Interlocutors: CARICOM
The US Ambassador did not hold back to throw Mr. David Granger’s words back in his face that CARICOM has been called, “the most legitimate interlocutors.” Those were the words Mr. Granger had used when trying to justify why the Carter Center had been denied entry when seeking to return to observe the national recount in Guyana. When asked about the alleged electoral fraud, the US Ambassador responded that the CARICOM observers certified the recount results as reliable and quoted Mr. Granger’s words when he said that “CARICOM is the most legitimate interlocutors” to scrutinize the recount process.
No Preference for Party: Just Democracy
The US Ambassador further reiterated the US position: that it does not have a preference for any government in Guyana as long as that government is democratically elected and the rule of law has been followed, respecting the will of the people.
Ms. Lynch emphasized that it is important that the voice of the people is heard and that the United States will work resolutely to make sure this happens. On this note, the Ambassador notes that the United States is not alone in its position that a winner must be declared based on the recount results, but that over 130 countries back the United States on this stance.
The Ambassador said that dictatorship is a dangerous trajectory down which the David Granger Administration is going and that those individuals involved in undermining democracy pose serious threat to local and international security. On this note, the Ambassador emphasized that the United States hopes to continue its friendly terms with Guyana, but that it can only work with a democratically elected government.
Related: Is the United States Trying to Steal Guyana’s Oil?
