The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) are calling for the transition of government to only take place in line with transparent and democratic principles that lead to credible results.
“Any government that is sworn in on the basis of non-credible results will NOT be recognized by the local business community, and we will take every lawful measure to resist and condemn it. Every vote must count and transparency and democratic values must at all times remain sacrosanct in our country,” the business blocs noted in a release today.
Also, the agencies bashed “much” of the management and staff of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as being “incompetent, compromised, biased and untrustworthy” in their handling of the elections.
“For this reason, we believe that the only immediately available panacea to this impasse that would bring a credible conclusion to our election process is the national recount of all ballots, verified by independent local and international observers, and supervised by a trusted independent arbiter, such as CARICOM, which has already been committed to by the Chair of GECOM. If such a recount does not come to pass, the egregious intentions of the “forces”, as referred to by the (Barbados Prime Minister and Chair of CARICOM), Miss Mia Mottley, will be realized, plunging our country into illegitimate rule and economic despair,” the GCCI and GGDMA noted.
SANCTIONS
On the issue of possible sanctions, the blocs said that local business, civil society organizations and other groups have continuously pleaded for all and sundry to be wary of the grave ramifications that such reprimand will have on Guyana.
“Over the recent weeks, we have also noted the stepping up of calls by certain powerful trading partners with whom we rely on to not only purchase our exports, but also to provide us with essential imports, indicating that should an illegitimate government be installed in Guyana, there will be severe repercussions. This therefore leads us to conclude that such sanctions are imminent if such a government is installed. The local business community notes that all political parties have expressed concern regarding the prospect of the imposition of sanctions on Guyana. We remind all that sanctions are consequential and would only apply if Guyana refuses to follow the democratic path,” the Chamber and Association said.
