Dear Editor,
The recent platform shout from The PNC and its other fringe elements is “Biometrics,” they want GECOM to immediately grant them their request in the next election, but would this demand in any way appease them? The answer is a resound, biometrics will not, neither would any system that is free and fair allay their fears, for the simple reason that they do not want a system that bears them up as losers in an election.
No system that is legitimate and aboveboard would placate them. What is crystal clear is that they would like an unprepared GECOM to hurriedly rush into a biometric system, which would have been illegal, conduct an election that they in the end would cry out that they were robbed. The PNC did it in the 1997 Election and would certainly do it again if the opportunity accommodates it.
In the 1997 Election, the PPP/C won by a landslide, yet they refused to accept the result, hence another call for a recount. The votes were counted thrice which saw the same result – if I may add the PPP/C got 941 more votes in the final count – yet they were not satisfied. The next move was to mount that infamous election petition case led by one of their party supporters Esther Pereira, they claim that it was an illegal system that yielded those results hence the election should be declared null and void.
The judge who heard that petition was Justice Claudette Singh, Madam Justice held a meticulous adjudication of the matter, finally granting judgement that the election was indeed illegal for the simple reason stated, it was held under an illegal system, a system that The PNC crafted, one that was foisted upon Mrs. Jagan to accept, therefore fresh elections had to be called soonest. Fresh elections were held which revealed similar results, The PNC then rushed to their supporters who were already violently positioned in the streets, with the false claims that they were robbed, I guarantee you that this would be the very same strategy they will use if the election body accedes to their demand.
The GECOM Chairman has ruled that biometrics cannot be entertained at such short notice in this election, so their confusion strategy have been thwarted. They have immediately countered that in a mounted smear campaign that the election would have already been rigged in favour of the PPP/C. This comes as no surprise, because that ploy was tried before, but here’s the problem for them and I have listed these below.
The election would be held in a free, fair and transparent way, where each living, eligible person can and will vote.
There will be, I repeat, will be certified observers who would oversee the election each step of the way.
Election results would be read from the legal, foolproof method of SOP’s and not from a falsified spreadsheet as Mingo and Lowenfield did.
Election results would be given in an efficient and timely manner soon after the close of polls.
The winner would be publicly announced and the president sworn in soon after.
There would be no violence.
This is what an election is all about a clean, fair transparent system that will produce results that reflects the wishes of The People.
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
