By Ryhaan Shah
There is fear all across Guyana brought on by the certainty that the People’s National Congress (PNC) (masquerading as APNU) will rig the 2020 elections. Those of us who survived the Burnham dictatorship know what that means for our freedoms and security. We have faced the terror, experienced the hardships, and known the danger of daring to raise a voice in opposition. For Indian Guyanese especially – the open target of PNC institutionalised racist policy – the fear is real and palpable.
Some argue that much has changed since Burnham’s days and that Granger will be hard pressed to muzzle the news media, for instance, given the universal use of Internet connections which will ensure that information is disseminated unhindered worldwide and the truth known.
But the alarms already raised have not resulted in any change of direction and Granger’s brazenness and unilateral decision-making might signify that he has the full support of powerful backers and a free hand to do just as he pleases, including returning Guyana to the darkness of Burnhamism.
No one is sure what form the 2020 rigging will take but it is highly unlikely that Granger will need to use his Guyana Defence Force cronies to carry out the crude hijacking of ballot boxes to have them stuffed with PNC votes as Burnham had done. It is more likely that the fraud will be done by manipulating the voters’ list and rigging the results within the confines of the Guyana Elections Commission’s offices, with Granger’s unilaterally assigned Chairman, James Patterson, diligently following his given instructions.
The last time around, the PNC carried out its vote rigging in collusion with the US to further America’s Cold War interests. The burning question now is: why would the Americans, after all the democratic gains made since 1992, allow Guyana to slide back into a dictatorship propped up by electoral fraud?
Control of the large oil reserves off our coast could be the overriding factor and if a PNC Government has been determined to be more favourable to US interests, this raises several questions as to what oil deals are being done – the secretive signing bonus is just the start – and who will ultimately benefit; it is unlikely to be Guyana.
The country will be “oil poor” as the corruption and incompetence under the Granger Government deepens to become an aggressive cancer on the country. The previous PNC dictatorship left Guyana in an economically wrecked state and going by the performance of the Granger Government thus far, the party’s racism and corruption which led to that wreckage are unchanged and appear even more vicious.
US control of our oil reserves appears to trump any concern for us, the citizenry, and for the long-term fate of our country. We are easily discounted as collateral damage. But should we give up and accept the 2020 elections results as a forgone conclusion?
During the Burnham dictatorship, many fought against the oppression. Some – Dr Walter Rodney, Father Darke, Vincent Teekah, the Ballot Box Martyrs – lost their lives in the struggle. Fighting against oppression is the sacred duty of every good citizen but are there any such citizens left in Guyana or are we all sycophants who are corrupt and corruptible and bent on furthering a selfish agenda as exemplified by the Alliance For Change (AFC) leadership?
Whether or not it would be a futile exercise, there should be a civic group willing to play a watchdog role in the runup to the 2020 elections. An Elections Watch 2020 could review the voters list, keep a close eye on procedures, provide public critique of decisions taken, try to ensure fair and transparent voting, and unmask every corrupt practice and procedure.
Such a group would not campaign for any party but simply work to make sure that the 2020 elections results truly reflect the will of the Guyanese people. If, as the PNC insists, everything will be above board they would welcome every watchdog group.
Without the 11 per cent vote brought in by the AFC in 2015 to give it a winning edge, the PNC will be hard-put to garner enough votes for an elections victory so Granger is either heading for a big fall in 2020 or, as everyone believes, plans to keep the PNC in power by whatever means necessary.
This might be the last stand for democracy before Guyana is held hostage once again to PNC terrorism. The Irish statesman, writer and philosopher Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
But are there good citizens who will stand and counter the evil that threatens or is the partisan divide insurmountable?
