Caretaker Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has criticised the international community for speaking out against Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield’s fraudulent election report.
Nagamootoo has asserted that the western powers and regional partners are now part of a grand orchestrated scheme to use Guyana as a pawn in a global political game of chess aimed at toppling the Nicolas Maduro Government in neighbouring Venezuela and are not really interested in democratic elections.
Nagamootoo has claimed that the international community has somehow been trying to influence the outcome of the elections against A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC), which the recount shows that the PP0P/C won by over 15,000 votes.
Nagamootoo’s latest foray against the growing voices in the international community that have called for the results of the recount of the March 2 poll to be used to declare the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration the winner came as he was speaking during an online broadcast. He was at the time defending the report submitted by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield which discards in excess of 115,000 votes from tabulated results to give an APNU/AFC victory at the polls.
The caretaker Prime Minister in adumbrating the coalition’s newest position said he was offended “that you have foreign powers using us as pawn in a geopolitical game.”
Nagamootoo in responding to the growing international voices of condemnation of the APNU/AFC and Lowenfield has evidently initiated a shift to a new narrative to deflect criticisms of his Government’s insistence on refusing to accept the results of both the count and recount of the votes in the March 2 elections, by claiming that the west, especially the US, is not really interested in democracy but in Guyana being used in a plot to overthrow Maduro.
Taking great effort not to name the USA directly, from his accusations there can be no doubt about the object of Nagamootoo’s strident attack. According to Nagamootoo as he danced between the raindrops, “you have foreign powers using us as a pawn in a geo-strategic game that they have mapped out in their own interest.”
Honing in on his allegations against the United States, Nagamootoo was adamant that now “suddenly, you have a change of geostrategic focus by a big power who has an agenda.”
This, he posited to be, “a regime change, in a nearby country with which we have diplomatic relations but we don’t have friendly relations, Venezuela; so, Guyana has been used as collateral damage in an obsession to effect a regime change in a neighbouring country.” It is no secret that several American Administrations, especially the incumbent one under President Donald Trump have insisted that the Maduro Administration must be removed for their domestic democratic violations and their international adventurism.
Nagamootoo’s statement comes on the heels of a recent statement by US Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, who in responding to claims of US interference had pointed out that Guyana had joint up with other Lima Group members from the Americas to strive for a democratic resolution to the crisis in Venezuela.
It was noted that along with 12 other countries, Guyana proclaimed in January 2019, “we reiterate that the electoral process that took place in Venezuela on May 20, 2018, lacked legitimacy as it neither included the participation of all political actors in Venezuela, nor did it have the presence of independent international observers, nor did it comply with the necessary guarantees or international standards for a free, fair and transparent election.”
Guyana at the time had signed off saying, “accordingly, we do not recognise the legitimacy of the new presidential term of Nicolas Maduro, or his regime, which commences on January 10, 2019.”
The US Ambassador had noted that such statements are not foreign interference but rather amounts to good diplomacy by members of the hemisphere’s democratic club.
She had at the time noted that “Guyana is certainly not Venezuela; let’s keep it that way.”
Most recently, several US Senators have called directly upon caretaker President Granger to respect the will of the Guyanese people as expressed in the March 2 elections and to allow a transition to democratic governance.
It is to be seen whether Nagamootoo’s “feral blast” will be echoed at the latest US calls for democracy in Guyana. (Published by the Guyana Times)
