The events currently unfolding in Guyana have left citizens, both here and abroad, in shock and lost for words, as they cannot believe that what is happening before their very eyes is actually real. Many young persons have expressed, via social media and other platforms, that they had only heard of such happenings taking place in the post-1960 era under the Forbes Burnham-led PNC, when he blatantly rigged elections to hold on to power.
We have seen how the APNU/AFC Government used every trick possible, following the No-Confidence vote they faced in December 2018, to stay in power; and now we are witnessing their refusal to give up power after their obvious defeat at the elections on March 2. What we have noticed over the past few days are blatant and shameful acts by the APNU/AFC, working in collusion with others to steal the elections in front of the watchful eyes of international and local observers, the entire diplomatic community, and international and local media personnel.
The main bone of contention in all of this fracas, which is being generated in the streets and elsewhere, are the elections’ results. What ought to have been a simple, straightforward process prescribed for in law has been turned into a national crisis and a major embarrassment for the country. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) finally declared the results of Region 4, after a series of delaying tactics by various employees, but those results have not been verified by the prescribed statutory procedure, as was the case for the other regions. These unverified results are starkly different from those in possession of the political parties, observers and other stakeholders.
GECOM, more particularly the Chairman and Chief Elections Officer, have failed the nation. They have lost all credibility as they presided over a process which was highly questionable and fraudulent. It is clear from the SOPs signed by all parties in the presence of observers who the winners of these elections are. The process of verification at the level of the Returning Officers, in this case Region 4, should not have had any significant difference, if any at all. GECOM officials deviated from a lawful process, and proceeded to use a spreadsheet document using figures that were at complete variance with the SOPs and which were designed to buttress APNU/AFC totals.
When the dust is settled, a thorough investigation should be carried out into the workings of GECOM; more particularly, the counting, tabulation and declaration of results of the elections. What has happened on this occasion must never be allowed to happen again.
Despite the obvious fiddling with the figures, the APNU/AFC are still insisting that their party has won. For a losing group to claim victory and stage celebratory parties is highly irresponsible and dangerous.
It is not certain what the next steps would be, as the PPP has since secured an injunction to prevent the process from moving forward until the results are verified. However, the GECOM PRO violated the injunction by publicising the unverified Reg 4 figures. If David Granger is allowed to be sworn in as President, it means that Guyana would have an illegal government, and the country would face severe sanctions.
That said, we wish to thank the various observers and the countries to which they belong for their service to Guyana at this critical moment. Our hope is that they would remain here until the process is completed, to ensure that, in the end, democracy prevails. All of the observers were able to do their work with a great deal of dedication, and even insults, as a government official was heard threatening to remove the accreditation of the observers yesterday because they stood strong on the side of Guyana’s democracy.
The fight for the return of free and fair elections and to be ruled by a democratic government was not an easy one; it was long and hard. We are now in 2020, and we had thought that, by this time, the nation had matured politically and leaders would act responsibly to save their country from descending into chaos and confusion and going backwards. Unfortunately, this is not the case; we have leaders who would hold on to power at all cost, even at the expense of seeing their country being destroyed.
In the interest of the nation, we ask the political parties, especially the APNU/AFC, to let their followers know the truth of the election results to prevent the country from descending into chaos. It is time that sanity returns to Guyanese society.
