On Monday evening during an interview on the radio program, Straight Up, His Excellency President David Granger noted that there first needs to be evidence of wrongdoing before sanctions can be imposed.
According to the Head of State, A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition government has nothing to hide and urged that persons wait until the recount process is completed before judgments are made.
“My government has done nothing wrong and I do not think those sanctions could be justified if it is shown that my government has behaved legally and the elections process was a legitimate one and that it satisfies international standards,” he said.
Following the March 2 General and Regional Elections, Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo along with other political party leaders, called for sanctions to be placed on individuals of the current administration, claiming that the coalition developed a plot to hijack the elections.
Recently, a group called ‘Save Democracy’ represented by attorney at law, Randy Depoo accused the government of being involved in a deliberate attempt to steal the elections. For this reason, Depoo made calls for US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to impose individual sanctions on several election staff, government officials, ministers and President Granger. Among the list of sanctions suggested by Depoo are the cancellation of Visas and freezing of assets owned in the US by those selected individuals.
Moreover, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of State’s, Michael Kozak had issued a warning to those he believed participated in what he described as “electoral fraud”. He noted that those involved could be subjected to a variety of harsh penalties.
However, the Head of State emphasised the need for evidence of misconduct and highlighted the reason for the national recount. “The question of sanctions could only be applied if there is any evidence or proof of wrongdoing and the reason why we’re in the present situation of having a recount is to assure our own people and the international community that the government has behaved properly.”
With regards to international community-imposed sanctions, the President expressed that he does not want any such to be imposed on the people of Guyana since it could be extremely damaging for a very long time.
