Dear Editor,
Sunday, August 2, 2020, saw the declaration of the March 2, 2020 election results and the swearing-in of Dr Irfaan Ali as the ninth President of The Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It was a long and arduous road, but we eventually got there, thanks to the indomitable spirit and resilience of the people of this great nation, to this end we can say home at last.
Now, as much as we might not want to acknowledge it, the walk to freedom was a rocky road which sometimes seems to be going nowhere, especially when you look at the endless circle of litigation coming from the loser incumbent. From one court case to another, theirs was the determined effort to barefacedly prove an illegality that they have won the election, however, in the nick of time the fraud was exposed and the rigging plans came to an abrupt end.
There are three fundamental facts that readily comes to mind as we examine the rudiments of election 2020.
1. Rigging is dead and a requiem mass has to be kept. The Burnhamite institution of rigging has reached its finale and it is time to say RIP – Rest In Peace. No more will we countenance an election where fraud should be used to determine a winner. The PNC was even belligerent in their resolve seeking a legal cover to perpetuate that fraud, but quick action by the PPP/C brought this to an end. They tried to rig and was caught red-handed
2. In light of the foregoing I shall recommend – it is already in the PPP/C Manifesto – the ushering in of a new system of balloting where the placing of a mark on a piece of paper is done away with. We have to move into the era of machine voting, where the machine decides which votes are valid and those that are not. In the present paper balloting, there is always the possibility for corruption to flourish. As was exemplified in the March election if a corrupt and politically-biased Presiding Officer (PNC/AFC) thinks that his party is losing he just simply refuses to stamp the ballot which automatically makes that ballot illegal and it cannot be counted.
Mark you well, the voter would have innocently cast his ballot and gone his way, but due to ulterior motives of a partisan Presiding Officer decided to disenfranchise that voter. This will not happen in a system of machine voting. If I should add, the situation was so grave that the PPP/C lost a seat as a result of that skullduggery. To eliminate that backwardness, we must go into the realm of machine balloting, it is the system used in the USA for years now and one which eliminates the total dependence of the corrupt human factor.
3. My final point is that there must be a reorganising or total makeover at GECOM, I am talking about a reconstituted and retrofitted body equipped with personnel who are there to serve the people and not their party. In that new system of things, there will not be a Clairmont Mingo, Keith Lowenfield, Roxanne Myers nor that so-called “IT specialist” guy who was strangely tired, but was later found huddled in another room “fixing” the figures, there is no place for such dubious persons! Further to it, the new parties will have to, I repeat will be added to the constitutional body, making it a true reflection of the political landscape of our country. This means that the crazy and mindless antics of the PNC/AFC cabal at the Commission would be a thing of the past.
They might not have known it but the PNC-led coalition has finally immolated themselves. Guyana must move forward, down with rigging, down with a Government that does not reflect the wishes of the people.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
