Six political parties, and now joining them a partner from the Government’s coalition, have all reinforced calls for a recount of ballots cast at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The repeated calls were made one day after The Commonwealth Observer Group announced its withdrawal from Guyana, citing serious and persistent electoral malpractice and the failure of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to stop the blatant disregard for the rule of law and electoral ethics.
These sentiments expressed by The Commonwealth group have from the inception been the basis that led to the initial call for a recount, given the fact that the tabulation processes conducted by the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo, were not credible and transparent.
Throwing cold water on the notion being peddled by sympathizers of the coalition, that it was the political parties that disrupted the process, The Commonwealth Group said: “It is the Group’s clear view that robust exchanges between political party agents in the room only occurred when the Guyana Elections Commission repeatedly halted the tabulation process…” Rightly so, decision by Mr Mingo to declare unverified results were challenged, and the Chief Justice gave clear and unambiguous directions on how that Constitution of Guyana directs the process to be conducted.
However, Mr Mingo and GECOM proceeded following the Chief Justice’s ruling, displayed blatant disregard for transparency and credibility, as, in some instances, this resulted in tabulation totals reflecting more voters than were entered on the list of eligible electors for certain polling stations.
This, coupled with the lack of intervention by the leadership of GECOM to halt or rectify these blatant instances of disregard for the rule of law and electoral ethics, confirms that rigging of the 2020 General and Regional Elections was orchestrated by forces that were working within the confines of GECOM. This was done in the full view of the media and the world watching.
As was stated before by this newspaper, Guyana now stands on the verge of returning to a full-fledged dictatorship that oppressed the nation from 1964-1992. Guyana’s democracy was blatantly snatched, and the free will of the Guyanese people is being suppressed by a selfish few who are holding on to power at any cost.
But can Guyanese really survive the burden and consequences that this selfish, power drunk few will have descend upon the nation? Any right-thinking Guyanese will answer with a resounding “No”.
Already, the international community, and more so the United States Government, have warned that those who participate and benefit from electoral fraud, undermine democratic institutions, and impede a peaceful transition of power in Guyana can be subject to a variety of consequences. This warning also included the fact that de facto regimes do not receive the same treatment as democratically elected governments.
A first taste of such consequences has already hit Guyana’s tongue bitterly, as Norway’s Government has indicated that, given the volatile political situation, it has put the brakes on the release of NOK 393 million (US$36.2M) climate aid to this country. We do not have to look far to see the consequences of international sanctions and the consequences it has on the ordinary citizens of a nation. All we have to do is take off the political blindfold and look next door to our neighbor, Venezuela.
The actions of GECOM, Mr Mingo and President David Granger, along with his cohorts with APNU/AFC, over the past 18 days could only be viewed as a blatant and deliberate attempt to destroy the democratic gains made over the last two decades.
