"Nah tek yuh mattie eye fuh see” is a Guyanese proverb meaning “see for yourself and form your own conclusions instead of relying on the reports of others.” In the case of the 2020 Guyanese presidential election, the words of this proverb ring true. Media coverage of the election has been one-sided, with the ruling coalition government at the time of the election, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), painted as usurpers of the democratic process, and the United States cast as a necessary facilitator and defender of democracy. This Comment paints a different picture. By situating the Guyanese election in the larger sociopolitical and economic history of U.S. influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, this Comment argues that Guyana is the latest casualty of U.S. hegemony. This Comment looks to international election law and various international treaties to determine on what legal grounds, if any, the U.S. decided to act. Ultimately, this Comment concludes that the U.S. engaged in the very election interference it accused Russia of committing during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This conclusion compels a broader discussion about the current state of international election law and how it can be reformed to address the ongoing issue of election interference.
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Amber Symone Stewart
A.B. 2015, Princeton University; J.D. Candidate 2022, The University of Chicago Law School.
The author would like to thank her family and partner for being her steadfast supporters. She would also like to thank the entire staff of the Chicago Journal of International Law, the CJIL Online team, Professor Aziz Huq, and Claire Parins.