Change Guyana tells Granger “salvage” respect he has left

…advises him to put Guyana first, concede defeat

Change Guyana Presidential Candidate, businessman Robert Badal, who contested the March 2 elections has urged caretaker President David Granger to concede defeat and salvage whatever respect he has left.

Badal made this call on Saturday, one day after two other coalition politicians broke ranks from the party and conceded that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had won the elections.
“David Granger must now concede victory to the winning PPP and allow for the inauguration of Dr Irfaan Ali as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The results of the Caricom supervised recount of the votes cast at the March 2, 2020, National and Regional Elections are irrefutable, confirming a PPP victory,” Badal said in a statement.

“Rather than hanging to the last straw, legal and otherwise, to remain in political office, Mr Granger must now put the country he has led for five years first and salvage whatever respect he may as a former President of our beloved country,” Badal said.
According to Badal, any further foot-dragging on the part of Granger would deal further blows to A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change’s (APNU/AFC) credibility as a political party. It would also affect their effectiveness as an Opposition party in Parliament.

Credibility of elections
He further noted that the international community, inclusive of The Carter Center, the Commonwealth Group, Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU), has confirmed the credibility of the elections. According to Badal, the pressure is on APNU/AFC.
“The Guyanese economy and social fabric have undergone enormous hurdles since the No-Confidence Motion eighteen months ago with adverse consequences for businesses, investments and job creation. The disruption this has created has affected the livelihood and image of Guyanese and Guyana internationally,” Badal said. He added that it is time that Guyanese rally around the elected and legitimate Government and take its place among the league of democratic countries.
According to Badal, the two groups must join hands to heal the racial wounds and formulate a joint economic and social agenda – one that lifts Guyanese out of poverty, removes the draconian tax system and properly incentivises the Private Sector.
“We have a country to build together, there’s space for everyone. Let’s move forward in peace and harmony… all for the accelerated growth and development of Guyana,” Badal wrote in his missive.
It was only on Friday that coalition partner Justice For All Party (JFAP) founder CN Sharma broke away from APNU/AFC’s dogged refusal to accept defeat in the March 2 polls. In a statement, he made it clear that enough was enough and it was time for the country to move on.
He chastised the APNU/AFC which is bent on dragging out the process and extended congratulations to PPP/C on their win. Sharma had pointed out that the National Recount was carried out and from the votes counted, it is clear the PPP/C is the winner.
As such, he had urged that PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali be sworn in without delay. Sharma had also called the last 108 days exhausting and said that the people are starving and suffering due to the COVID-triggered economic slowdown.
Granger’s own son-in-law, former Business Minister Dominic Gaskin also made a statement on Friday in which he conceded that APNU/AFC lost to the PPP/C and called out his party’s leadership for fooling supporters.
And, incumbent Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan was caught on a recording, conceding defeat to his Ministry staff, during a farewell speech he had given. In that speech, Ramjattan had acknowledged the PPP winning by some 15,000 votes and had told the gathering he was willing to move on.
So far, however, the coalition Government is in the Court of Appeal trying to have the impending declaration by GECOM blocked on the basis of unproven claims of dead and migrated voters. A decision is expected in the case on Monday.