Dear Editor,
2024 is the year of elections for many countries worldwide. Already there have been close shaves, upsets, and unprecedented compromises in elections that have already been held, especially in India, South Africa, France, Mexico and the UK. While attention is focused on the ball for the upcoming American election later this year, all eyes will concentrate on Venezuela, our neighbor next door on their consequential election. As Maduro was declared winner, major problems have already surfaced and Maduro’s goons are busy doing what the PNC did during election time in Guyana. Guyanese will go to the polls next year when the PNC/AFC/APNU will be clutching on any straw as they struggle to emerge from a sea of cesspools.
Kamala Harris, the current United States of America Vice President, is the potential Democratic presidential candidate for the November 2024 Election. She is all PPP/C. In a week since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, she has raised US$200 million in her People Powered Presidential Campaign, to be run in the next 100 days. That amount was raised mostly from new members. President Irfaan Ali and his PPP/C Government have enjoyed a close, cordial, and comfortable working relationship with the Democratic American government, since they were legitimately elected by Guyanese to administrate the country and legally sworn in on the 2nd of August 2020.
This was possible with the invaluable help of the then-Republican American government, along with the BCE, CARICOM, and the entire International/Regional/National Community.
Incidentally, the potentially predicted PNC is also privileged to promote the PPP/C. They have started with their Promises, Pledges, and Pronouncements in their Campaign to attempt to usurp power once again as they did in March 2020. Despite being convincingly crushed and losing the 2020 Election, the PNC held on to power for 5 unabashed months and unashamedly curled up on a cozy couch while launching a cleanup crusade to remove all evidence of finagling during their ruinous 5 years reign from 2015 to 2020.
As the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) continues to laboriously meet to execute their strenuous job, the expected nightmares become reality as all the PNC suspected financial irregularities unfolded. It is of little wonder that the Opposition members of the PAC were determined to speedily rush through the process so that little time could be spent on examining, questioning, and requesting answers and explanations satisfactorily required on the audited accounts and the findings on numerous deficiencies and illegal transactions. In their election 2020 motto, the PNC advertised “Honesty and Integrity.”
The popular Latin phrase comes in handy, “Alea Iacta Est,” meaning, “The Die Is Cast.” The PNC’s faith was already decided when they failed to reveal their SOP and the entire world looked on as they clumsily attempted to manipulate the numbers by increasing the votes for the PNC and decreasing those for the PPP/C. After referring to CARICOM as the “most important interlocutor” in the Guyana Elections, the untrustworthy past President, Granger, then reneged on his agreement to go ahead with recounting the votes with the CARICOM team.
As another August 2nd is being remembered, Guyanese and the entire Caribbean will reflect on what the Head of the Organization of American States observer mission to Guyana’s March 2nd elections, Bruce Golding, said, “And permit me here to pause to comment. I have never seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an election.” This statement was included in his report to the OAS Permanent Council where many ambassadors were present.
What’s wrong with the PNC is that everything is wrong. But they do know not that there is nothing wrong with conceding, confirming, and communicating this wrong. Amanda Desir in her PNC leadership campaign declared, “Recent events have cast a shadow over our [PNC/R] noble cause.” Their noble cause has always been to ensure that the PNC rules Guyana for life and that no one else can share in their spoils. This can only be achieved by rigging elections as the PNC did in the 1968 elections, the 1973 elections, the 1978 referendum, the 1980 elections, and the 1985 elections. The senior elder for the party confirmed this tried and tested tool in his audacious and appalling affirmation, given earlier this year at Burnham’s commemorative birth anniversary and at a function arranged by the Burnham Foundation, “I say we should keep rigging to save us from these devils, these bastards, these demons that we have.”
There is nothing wrong in confessing this wrong to make things right as a commencement. The PNC cannot confine itself to any form of consolation and conclude that its only hope is to follow Burnham’s legacy and hope to use the race card as its weapon and retreat to violence as a last resort. Having lost the 2020 General Elections was a major blow to the PNC-aligned confederates who subverted the sanctity of sanity and waged a war on democracy to retain power through the back door. Many events unfolded behind the scenes before Granger finally conceded to the PPP/C’s victory. It was the “mother of all elections because it determined who would begin to control the usage of the oil revenue to charter a new chapter in the history of Guyana’s economic development.
This stigma of election rigging will forever be borne on the neck of the PNC as an albatross when claiming to be transparent. The new generation knows that something is ghastly wrong with this horrible sight and no amount of rebranding will alter this image. Clothing the party with this fabric leaves them naked and standing on shaky ground. The US did command the ranger for the caretaker government to, “step aside.” Let the “Case for the riggers begin.”
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall
