Dear Editor,
It is with utmost urgency that I call on caretaker President David Granger to salvage whatever dignity he has left. Our regional and general elections were held on March 2nd of this year, and now we are coming to the end of July, almost five long months of agony and torture with back and forth court matters, and the elections’ results are yet to be officially declared.
Mr Granger, the results of the elections are no secret to you or your unconstitutional Government ministers. The figures that were declared on the night of March 2nd are those exact figures returned at the Caricom-scrutinised National Vote Recount, which saw the main Opposition party, PPP/C, gaining victory.
President Granger, you are adamant that you do not interfere in the work of GECOM, but let’s be realistic to the fact that GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield is a human asset to your Coalition Government. The fact also remains that this election itself was “perhaps one of the most outstanding, credible and well-run elections” ever witnessed by most of the election observers. Scrutineers from all political parties and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), along with external election observers from several countries, witnessed a process whereby all voters produced photo identification or their National Identification Card; had their identity verified by a Presiding Officer against a registry of legitimate voters; dipped their index finger in indelible ink to avoid voting duplication; folded their ballot so that the vote remained anonymous; and placed their vote securely into an official ballot box.
There is no reason to doubt the consensus opinion and veracity of the Caricom Observer Team, the OAS, the Commonwealth Observation Mission, the Carter Center, the embassies and ambassadors of the European Union and the United States, the High Commissioners of Canada and the United Kingdom, representatives from Norway, the Elders Group, and the ABCE foreign powers.
Several independent bodies in Guyana, including the Guyana Human Rights Association, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, the Private Sector Commission, and even partners within the APNU+AFC coalition itself, have determined that the 2020 election was free and fair, and that the Recount was credible. All of these observers can’t be wrong.
President Granger, you have taken Guyana into a place where there is uncertainty about tomorrow. The nation is fed-up, and until you get up off your throne and concede defeat, our country will not move forward in the direction called the best interest of Guyanese. At present Guyana is at high risk of becoming a pariah state, with serious consequences looming overhead for subverting democracy, and also imminent danger of being expelled from the OAS, UN, CARICOM and other reputable funding organisations.
Prior the March 2nd elections, as you were on the campaign trail, you spoke about honesty, decency and integrity. I say without reservations that the dishonesty and indecency that are being portrayed today have no boundaries. We continue to see on a daily basis more and more of your lies being exposed. There is no more damage that can be done.
I urge you, Caretaker President Granger, to call off your surrogates for interfering in the work of GECOM. GECOM is obligated to declare a winner without being intimidated. GECOM and its entire staff knew of the results on the night of the elections. The ballots were counted twice, and showed the main Opposition party, the PPP/C, winning with over 15,000 votes.
We have suffered too long as a nation because of dishonesty by just a handful of people who have been holding Guyana at ransom because of the lust to hang on to power. Then, on the other hand, we are battling the global COVID-19 pandemic. The time has come for this drama to be put to an end. In the words of the Caricom Chairman and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines “the loser of the elections should take his licks like a man”.
In closing, it is not too late to salvage whatever little dignity you have left as a president of this dear land of Guyana. Generations to come will remember you as the President of Guyana who broke all the laws of the Constitution just to remain in power undemocratically. Do you want that to be your legacy, President Granger? It is not too late to walk away with your head held high, and return in the next five years. Knowing when to walk away is wisdom; being able to is courage. Walking away with grace and your head held high is dignity.
Regards,
Timothy A Bhagwandin
