SOME political scientists have long contended that elections have consequences that go far beyond the ballot. We in Guyana have known this for some time now but have found ways to contain it.

However, the current elections have brought out that scenario with a vengeance. Nowhere has it been more blatant than in the manner in which the foreign observer groups and the diplomatic community have become immersed in our elections and, by extension, our national affairs. It has not reached the point where Guyanese have begun to question whether our very sovereignty is under threat.

It is globally accepted that electoral observation is a fact of life in contemporary politics. After all, we live in a globalized world that has, over the last few decades, developed formal and informal rules of international and inter-state relation. Because of the new system of globalization, what happens within the borders of one country could have varying impacts on other countries. The current Covid-19 pandemic is a vivid example of this scenario. There is no doubt that the world has become a smaller place where national borders do not insulate countries from the gaze of the rest of the world.

Yet, despite those changes, sovereignty still matters. The relative size of a country or its influence in the world should not be reasons to divest a sovereign state of its right to determine its own domestic affairs free from the tyranny of other more powerful countries. Guyana is a small post-colonial country of recent vintage. It came into being as an independent nation-state with its own constitution and government fifty-four years ago and has had to negotiate the disadvantages of smallness and underdevelopment. But, at the end of the day, we have survived as a nation and in the process, we have matured enough to be able to manage our own affairs. Like other countries with a similar history, we have had our challenges, but we have survived.

It is for those reasons that the attitude of the foreign observers and sections of the diplomatic community to our recent elections is most perplexing. Guyanese are being treated to almost daily threats and directives to our government and, by extension, our people from these forces. These threats and directives pay little regard for our independent status. It is beginning to feel as if these forces believe that Guyana is a dependency or ward of theirs. It is one thing to express adherence to international electoral norms. But it is completely out of order to tell another country how to conduct its elections and to seek to overtly or covertly influence the outcome of elections in your host country.

It is high time that we Guyanese raise our voices against this imposition from the outside. Our country has institutions and laws that are positioned to mediate whatever difficulties we may encounter. We are not a rogue country; we are part of the family of democratic states and expect to be treated as such. When our president and other elected leaders along with our institutions are being dictated to, it strikes at the heart of our independence. We did not overcome the sting of plantation slavery and the succeeding lashes of colonialism for others to come into our home and disrespect us. We may be poor and uninfluential in world affairs, but we have dignity.

Nobody can point a finger at Guyana and charge it with needlessly meddling in the affairs of another country. Then why must we be subjected to that deformity? We have been trying since March 2 to work though the roadblocks that have ensued from our most recent election. Our historical circumstances have left us with many underlying problems which, from time to time, have exposed our national fragility. But we have the capacity to overcome those if we are left alone to do so. In fact, the kind of intrusion which we have witnessed these past few weeks may in the end exacerbate those difficulties.

This publication therefore pleads with our diplomatic community and the foreign observer teams to step back from the confrontational posture they have assumed. We urge respect for our sovereignty and the dignity of our nation. Inserting yourselves in the middle of a national disagreement and openly advocating for one side is a recipe for instability. We stop short of labelling such intervention as meddling, but a spade must be called a spade—Guyanese are beginning to feel invaded by hostile elements.

Dejected local forces have always pandered to external intervention as a form of political expediency. But external forces must muster the courage to discourage such pandering. Guyana’s respect for the sovereignty of other countries is undiluted. We ask nothing less or more from our international partners. As we prepare to observe another anniversary of our cherished independence from colonization, we want to do so in a spirit of thankfulness and selfhood.