The international community has now become highly intolerable of the relentless manoeuvres by David Granger and the APNU/AFC Coalition to stave off a credible declaration of the March 2 General and Regional Elections in order to pave the way for the swearing in of the duly elected Government.
he APNU/AFC Coalition and all others who are found to be involved in any way in preventing a fair and credible outcome of elections, including those within the electoral machinery, will face the wrath of international powers. These personal sanctions are justified, considering the fact that Granger’s APNU/AFC Coalition and elements within the electoral machinery who are bent on subverting the will of the people have been given an extremely long time to correct their actions and redeem themselves.
It is now close to five months after the elections were held, the true results of which were known since the day after, and there is yet to be a declaration.
After attempts to alter the results for District Four in favour of APNU/AFC failed, the country moved to a National Recount, which again confirmed what the entire nation knew: that is, the PPP/C had won the elections convincingly.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) endorsed the National Recount, which was agreed to by the President himself and by the Leader of the Opposition following the huge controversy over Clairmont Mingo’s discredited declaration. However, Granger and his Coalition are now twisting the ruling of the CCJ to suit their own agenda.
The fact is the CCJ never invalidated any aspect of the recount process. In fact, in its clear, definitive decisions handed down, the CCJ said the recount results must be used as the basis for Lowenfield’s final report and it is for GECOM to ensure that the CEO complies with this directive.
As stated by CARICOM Chair Dr Ralph Gonsalves, in a normal democracy, what should be a straightforward matter of counting votes “has become the equivalent of a long-running soap opera, pregnant with real danger for the people of Guyana and the Caribbean Community”.
What we are seeing now is a blatant abuse of the court process by the Coalition to further delay the inevitable. In effect, the APNU/AFC are asking the Court to block GECOM from using the certified recount results and endorse Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent figures to hand Granger a second term in office.
Perhaps the APNU/AFC Coalition have lost all sense of reasoning if they indeed believe that they would be successful in achieving this objective. We have taken note of President David Granger playing with words again, shifting from a position he outlined a few weeks ago that he would accept “any declaration made by the GECOM Chairman” to one in which he is now saying that he “would abide by any declaration that the Chairman makes in keeping with the laws of Guyana.”
It is clear that President Granger and a small circle around him are hell bent on holding on to power using the same old tricks that were practised by then President Forbes Burnham decades ago.
What they do not realise is that, this time around, the ball-game has changed, as the internal and external forces are different.
With the foreign powers beginning to carry through with their threats of sanctions, it is left to be soon how much longer the Coalition will hold out. In times such as this, when citizens’ democratic rights are trampled upon and they are fearful of being victimized, it is the duty of the international community to act. Like many others, while we would not want the entire country to suffer, we believe that the major powers are on the right track with the imposition of personal sanctions.
The APNU/AFC have been pushing the argument that Guyana is a sovereign state. While this is true, it does not give any political outfit the right to hang on to power through fraudulent means.
Further, Guyana claims to be part of a democratic fold of nations, and is also a signatory to a number of international conventions and agreements which compel us to adhere to certain basic democratic norms. This includes ensuring that citizens are allowed the opportunity to elect a government of their choice in a free, fair and transparent manner.
Guyana, as the host to the headquarters of CARICOM, as a signatory to the Charter of Civil Society, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and other fundamental documents of relevance, has certain fundamental obligations to CARICOM.
PM Gonsalves was on target when he declared: “A rogue clique within Guyana cannot be allowed to disrespect or disregard with impunity the clear, unambiguous ruling of the CCJ. The time for decisive action is shortly upon us”.
