Guyana to Recount Votes Amid Growing Outcry over Alleged Electoral Fraud

Guyana has begun counting votes for the second time, with both the ruling party and opposition agreeing to a complete recount under the supervision of a team representing the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Nevertheless, tension is still running high, as the ruling party supporters are celebrating on the streets of capital Georgetown after the Friday announcement by the country’s Election Commission that President David Granger had won the second five-year term.

A team from the Caricom has promised that it would determine the real winner and help restore peace in the country.

The ruling party in Guyana apparently agreed to recount the votes after several foreign countries indicated that they would impose economic sanctions if David is sworn in without a valid recount.

“I’ve spoken directly to both the President and Leader of the Opposition, and they have both committed to abiding by the results of a fair and transparent recount of each and every ballot, as supervised by the CARICOM Team,” stated Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Chairman of Caricom in a statement.

Guyana is a poor county of barely 800,000 people, but it is sitting a huge oil deposit that is being explored by a consortium led by ExxonMobil, along with Hess Oil of the US and Nexen of China. Reports say the oil revenues will soon make it one of the wealthiest countries in the region.

The presidential election campaign was dominated by debates over how to use the revenue from oil explorations.