AFC needs to repudiate Dr Rohan Somar’s comments

Dear Editor,
On October 19, 2017, President David Granger invoked presidential powers under the Constitution that allowed him to supersede a provision requiring nominees from the Opposition Leader for the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, and autonomously appointed former Guyana Supreme Court Justice James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission.
A media report on November 22, 2017 stated that in an email to Alliance For Change (AFC) party leaders in Guyana in reaction to Justice Patterson’s appointment, Dr Rohan Somar, head of the AFC New York Chapter, allegedly said, inter alia, that “This unilateral appointment by the PNC Executive President of an Afro-Guyanese GECOM Chairman, whether right or wrong, rips open the scars of PNC rigging the election. You have just thrown red meat to the notion of ‘PNC rigging election’ which, in my view, will cause to forever lose Indo-Guyanese support at the polls.”
The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) deems the comments attributed to Dr Somar to be racist and offensive, and strongly condemns them. Dr Rohan Somar is the head of the New York Chapter of the AFC, and was apparently communicating with the party’s leadership in that capacity. His suggestion that an African Guyanese Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission will automatically cause the multi-ethnic coalition Government to lose Indian votes is the text book definition of racism.
Moreover, his irresponsible association of African Guyanese with “rigging elections” – electoral fraud – is text book racial profiling, as well as an insult that should make all Guyanese gravely nauseous. His bigotry appears to at least contravene the legislative intent of racial incitement statutes. They are dangerous and destructive to the body politic of the nation, and undermine the Government’s efforts to foster social cohesion.   They must therefore be forcefully condemned by all Guyanese, regardless of race or ethnicity.
There were three Chairmen of the Elections Commission over the last twenty years. All three were of East Indian descent. No one judged their performance or competence based on their race. That would have been equally condemnable. Dr Somar’s discernible prejudices apparently make him oblivious of the fact that no one ethnicity or race has an inherent right — or is more competent — to govern Guyana, or hold any particular constitutional office, over the others.
The AFC, of which Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is an executive member, and Vice President and Minister of National Security, Khemaraj Ramjattan is leader, is a part of Guyana’s ruling coalition Government.  Dr Somar’s statements have tainted the party and its leadership, which has remained silent on the matter. This is a moment for leaders to stand for principle in the interest of Guyanese national harmony.
The AFC’s silence can be interpreted or misinterpreted for tacit support of these reckless remarks. If the AFC does not support Dr Somar’s comments, then CGID calls on the party to repudiate them.

Yours sincerely,
Richard Millington
Director of Communications
Caribbean Guyana
Institute for Democracy (CGID)