Tourism body commends observers, foreign missions’ fight for democracy

The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) has commended all of the international observers and foreign missions in Guyana that observed the March 2 General and Regional Elections, for their relentless efforts to protect the country’s democracy.
The 2020 elections and result tabulation went smoothly in nine of Guyana’s 10 administration regions. In Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), there was a breakdown of the tabulation process when the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo secretly declared unverified results for the district.
“The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) would like to publicly commend the international observers and foreign missions in Guyana for their relentless efforts to protect Guyana’s democracy. We sincerely hope that you remain vigilant until the outstanding electoral issues are fully resolved,” THAG said.
Further, the tourism organisation urged the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to return to the verification and tabulation process, which was done for all the other nine regions in Guyana.
“THAG also joins the outpour of appeals for GECOM to resume the transparent tabulation process for Region Four, thus removing any doubt or suspicion of the final results and any question of the future government’s legitimacy.”
To this end, THAG stated that it was “saddened” by the way pro-democracy protesters were manhandled when voicing their concerns – leaving a few persons injured which resulted in mass chaos.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life, wounding of people involving children and destruction of property. We, therefore, repeat our call on all Guyanese to demonstrate tolerance and keep the peace,” THAG underscored.
Moreover, the Association stated that owing to the current political climate, it has seen major setbacks in the tourism sector.
“Like all of Guyana, the Association and the members of the tourism industry have also been impacted through cancellations of bookings for tours, accommodations and visits to the country. Many industry operators and other businesses have closed their doors as their staff are afraid to leave their homes and travel to work.”
THAG further stated that “the tourism and hospitality industry has made significant strides and has tremendous promise to grow exponentially to the benefit of all Guyanese. However, this cannot and will not materialise in an undemocratic, unstable and insecure environment.”
There is much uncertainty in the country following an attempt to commit electoral fraud – a development which has been acknowledged by international governments, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union, along with observers from the Commonwealth; the Organisation of American States (OAS); the EU and Caricom, who have all said that if the verification of the Region Four Statements of Poll (SoPs) was not completed, the results of the elections would not be credible.
The US State Department also stated that the Government would be illegitimate if the President is sworn in with unverified votes from Region Four.
Region Four had 897 polling stations, but the Returning Officer only allowed the verification process for 421 SoPs before aborting the process. He then sent the unverified results to Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield, who despite a court injunction, went ahead and prepared a final report of all 10 electoral districts for GECOM to declare a winner. Acting Chief Justice Roxane George has since issued a stern warning to GECOM and its agents not to pursue the declaration until the matter is heard and determined by the court.