SECRETARY-GENERAL of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, has applauded the joint collaboration of Guyana’s main political leaders and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct a national recount of ballots of the recently concluded General and Regional Elections.

Scotland said, in a release on Monday, that she had initially expressed “deep concern” about the tabulation of Region Four results after it was reported to her by the Commonwealth Observer Group to Guyana that it was not transparently conducted in accordance with the ruling of the Acting Chief Justice.

With President David Granger setting a new course forward by urgently contacting CARICOM to send a high-level team to oversee a national recount agreed to by Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, Scotland said that there is hope for a resolution.

“In this regard, I welcome and commend the regional leadership of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), at the invitation of President David Granger, to deploy a high-level mission to Guyana, to supervise a recount of the ballots cast in all ten regions of the recently-concluded elections,” the Secretary-General said.

“The leadership of President Granger and the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, in coming to this agreement on the way forward deserves to be lauded. I also note and welcome the public commitment from Justice Claudette Singh, Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), that she would facilitate the recounting of ballots; and her assurance that GECOM will cooperate fully with the CARICOM Initiative.”

Scotland urged all relevant stakeholders and public officials to do the same and to act in accordance with the “unambiguous judgement” of the Acting Chief Justice.

She stated: “The entire Commonwealth family look to the leaders and the people of Guyana to live up to the lofty aspirations set out in your Constitution, your electoral laws, and the Commonwealth Charter.”

An 11-member Observer Group from the Commonwealth arrived in Guyana on February 23, 2020 to observe pre-election, polling day and post-election activities to ensure that they were in keeping with Guyana’s laws, and its regional and international commitments.
The team was led by Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur.