…In Court
Guyanese of all backgrounds are quite leery of our Court system. The poor slaves, being defined as “chattel” (which doesn’t just coincidentally rhyme with “cattle”, but was its equivalent,) couldn’t even get through the court door. Cattle don’t have any rights, do they?? But after emancipation, joined by the indentureds, when they finally had recourse to the law and courts, they found out the latter was just another ploy to keep them in chains. Rather than warfare being waged against them with guns and whips, it was now “lawfare”, armed with thick tomes couched in indecipherable Latin maxims. Guyanese learned to steer clear of Courts with good reason. With the PNC now dragging the declaration of the elections by GECOM to the Appellate Court, trepidation is rife. The PNC wants the Appellate Court to parse what everyone thought was a self-explanatory Constitutional phrase, “more votes than…” How could Guyanese not remember the last time that body got entangled with the PNC’s politics? No, not when the PNC flew their flag over the building in the 70s, but just the other day, when they were fighting off the NCM. The Appellate Court ruled then, of course, that 33 was NOT the majority of 65, and had to be overruled and lectured ruefully by the CCJ that the phrase “needed no gloss”; that is, needed no explanation. Guyanese were all “shame, shame bad”, but did the eminent Jurists on the Court of Appeal learn anything? The PNC certainly doesn’t think so!!
Why else would they bring another “no brainer” to them to be decided?? Wasn’t it always that the party with “more votes than” the other party would win an election?? Well, the PNC’s brain trust figures that, like the last time, they would dazzle the Court with bullshit. Then it was by prefacing the word “majority” with “absolute”, and now by prefacing the word “votes” with “valid” to ask that GECOM now consider whether one party has “more VALID votes than the other”.
Now, you may be asking irascibly, (waiting 100+ days for an elections result will do that to you!!) “So what was the recount all about?” But that would be getting to the substance of the PNC’s claim. The GECOM Chair – who was an Appellate Judge, herself for donkey’s years – pointed out that the Appellate Court shouldn’t even be entertaining the case. The authority to adjudicate particular cases – their “jurisdiction” – is divvied up between the several types of Courts in the system. This one is for the High Court to deal with as an elections petition.
But didn’t the PNC know this? Of course they did!
They just believe the Appellate Court will go along with their “schupidness”!!
…another lesson in HID
Looks like the façade of the coalition’s unity is at last crumbling. The first crack came when Granger’s own son-in-law – Business Minister Dominick Gaskin – confessed early on that he just couldn’t defend Mingo’s blatant heist of the elections at Ashmin’s. Now, you’d think that would’ve started a stampede for the doors among the PNC troops. But Gaskin was cavalierly dismissed as a “lightweight” – even though his proximity to Granger should’ve signalled his insight into the character of the latter.
Lightweight or not, the fella was demonstrating the very qualities that Granger was patting himself on the back for: honesty, integrity and dignity (HID)!! The man could’ve easily stayed mum and even opposition folks might have brushed it off as showing loyalty to “family” – but he stood up to be counted. Another perceived “lightweight”, CN Sharma of the JFAP, just joined Gaskin, and it goes to show that the “big ones” who’re quiet are hoping against hope that their sinecure and perks will still be saved.
This goes for Ramjattan, who privately said his goodbyes to his staff.
…real politik
From the moment his minions started messing with the recount, Granger insisted, like a broken record, that he’d “accept whatever decision the Chairwoman makes”.
But when she is about to make her declaration, Granger drags her to court!! HID?
