By Sir Shridath Ramphal
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – As one who pleaded that we, Guyanese, “do not descend into the pit of lawlessness”, I applaud the chairman of GECOM, Claudette Singh, for elevating the rule of law above all other considerations.
The CARICOM Report on the recount of the votes in the March 2 general elections is more than a milestone in democracy in Guyana; it is a landmark in democratic ethics throughout CARICOM.
President Granger emphatically said that “CARICOM was the most legitimate interlocutor” in the Guyana electoral crisis. And he was right. So it is. As long ago as 2001, CARICOM heads of government (including Guyana’s);
“Stressing that the region had a long-standing tradition of respect for the will of the people expressed through free and fair elections on a regular basis”… “pledged to work together to maintain and strengthen the institution and processes essential to democratic government”.
The CARICOM scrutineers have gilded that pledge, and the chairman of GECOM, in respecting the legalities their report ordained, has married law to democracy.
The outcome of the Guyana General Election 2020 must be an example – not only in Guyana but regionally and world-wide of the strength of law and democracy.