A GECOM-supervised recount done under “international standards”
Dear Editor,
Amidst the twists and turns of a seemingly never-ending saga of an election, there finally is talk of a recount. From all indications, we have come to the point where we are going to have that long- awaited recount to ascertain the true winner of the March 2 Election.
Now, as much as we anticipate that recount, we must not forget that we had come to the point of declaring a winner twice before, but had to abort it due to a party’s brazen attempts to rig these elections right before our very eyes; so, this time we have to get it right.
Again, I say all of this stems from the known fact that Granger is on a do-or-die campaign to rig this election, and in that regard, we must do what is necessary to thwart his efforts to accomplish it. Knowing his sinister motives, we have to be cognizant of the avenues he might be tempted to explore, which in this case goes to the heart of the Election Commission itself.
Granger, through his minions at GECOM — and Claudette Singh is very much a part of it — hopes to pull off yet another brazen stunt at rigging.
Led by Vincent Alexander, the rigging apparatus is about to be set in motion, so pay keen attention to the actions of this commissioner. He asserts that if there is a recount, only CARICOM should be there to observe it; meaning, no other independent foreign eyes should be around.
Well, that has a twofold meaning. For starters, Alexander knows that with a smaller group of scrutineers, they could still strong-arm their way with that rigging stunt and get away with it. However, with a larger, more international observer grouping, there would be zero opportunity at rigging, for which Alexander is fearful.
Well, let me allay his fears by adding to it. I must tell Alexander that there could be no verification of the recount if the international observers are not present, period. End of discussion!
The international observers must be there to legitimize the process, there is no other option. The more eyes the better, because, up until this time, GECOM has embraced too many illegal intrusions for us to trust them, so we must have international input every step of the way.
Yes, we agree that GECOM is an autonomous body, but its members must understand that that local body must conduct its affairs under international standards: free, fair and transparent. Anything short of such standards would be deemed fraudulent, and would bear the crippling curse of sanctions.
