September 22 ,2020
When one takes into account the extent to which Guyanese were made to suffer during the 2020 electoral fiasco that lasted for over four months, it is clear that modernized, foolproof systems need to be put in place before citizens head to the polls in another five years. In acknowledgement of this dire need to safeguard democracy and the rights of citizens to elect the leaders of their choice, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo noted recently that America stands ready to assist Guyana to achieve this goal.
The high ranking US official made this comment, among others, during his first trip to Guyana to meet with the Irfaan Ali administration.
During a joint press engagement with President Ali, Pompeo said, “…We certainly stand ready to help (with) mechanisms or election monitoring systems…We’ve helped thousands of elections, municipal elections, city elections, school board elections. We know what makes a free and fair election. It’s a central idea of every person gets to vote, every vote gets counted in a way that everyone knows that their vote was counted, once not twice, and that there’s a fairness that’s associated with it.”
The Secretary of State added, “…It comes that openness and that transparency so that the rules, the leadership, the policies that flow from that government that is duly elected fairly reflects what it is the people are demanding through their own democratic system.”
Pompeo said he is proud of that tradition in the United States, while noting that he is also pleased to see that countries like Guyana, whose now demonstrated its capacity to hold a free and fair election and a peaceful transition to power, is desirous of improving same.
The official added, “We want to see that right alongside of them and help them continue to be successful.”
