This is according to a social media statement made by Michael Kozak, a diplomat in the United States Department of State, currently serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Kozak said the Guyanese Ambassador was called to a meeting where the US reiterated its stance on the current political situation in Guyana.
“On behalf of the US government, today I summoned Guyana Ambassador to the US, Riyad Insanally to convey our firm position that any government sworn in based on flawed election results would not be legitimate. Every vote must be counted,” Kozak tweeted.
The US has previously warned that there will be “serious consequences” for those who seek to benefit from electoral fraud in Guyana.
This warning was even relayed by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a press conference on March 17.
“The individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate Governments, regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States,” Pompeo had stated.
The US National Security Council, the forum that decides the US’s national security and military policies, has also called for democracy to prevail in Guyana.
Additionally, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had also warned of “serious consequences” for those who seek to benefit from electoral fraud in Guyana.
“Any Government sworn in on the basis of non-credible results will face strong international condemnation. If the situation continues to deteriorate, this international response will include a range of serious consequences for those concerned,” Raab had stated on March 24.
Only today, APNU/AFC Campaign Manager Joseph Harmon dismissed allegations of electoral fraud, saying “fraud is not a political term, it is a legal concept which requires specific averments that speaks to fraud. You have to detail the particulars of fraud.”
He also stated that those who are endorsing calls for sanctions are anti-national.
But Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo pointed out that sanctions can be avoided if the APNU/AFC coalition does the right thing.
“They are the ones who are anti-national. The civil society organisations, the small parties, etc, we are still trying to avoid the sanctions by asking them to do the right thing which is to have a recount done that would allow the rightful President to be sworn in and then we can avoid all of the sanctions, personal as well as national sanctions,” Jagdeo said.
