Dear Editor,
As time unfolds the truth, it becomes pellucid that the unilateral appointment of Justice (retired) Patterson as the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) Chairman is cloaked with ulterior designs and if there is one thing that President Granger has inherited from the late LFS Burnham, it is the art of rigging elections and the building of a strong foundation for dictatorial rule.
The President miserably failed to address the content and intent Article 161 of the Constitution and the 25 years of precedent created by the Carter-Price Formula. His action in so doing has signalled the People’s National Congress’ (PNC) intention to return to the 28 years of dictatorial rule and thrust this Nation back to the dark era of PNC misrule.
The hasty midnight appointment of the GECOM’s Chairman is symbolic of the looming darkness which President Granger intends to enshroud this nation and the tricks and deception which become characteristic of this coalition rule. There are six GECOM Commissioners and three are elected by the Opposition and three by the Government, so if there is a tie in any decision-making then the Chairman breaks that tie. This was the intention of Granger. Will the Chairman of GECOM act against the instructions of the man who appointed him? It is a known and accepted fact that the President never intended that the GECOM Chairman should be impartial but was appointed to do his biddings.
Patterson wasted no time in carrying out the wishes of his master. The rejection of the appointment of the top-ranking applicant, Vishnu Persaud for the position of the Deputy CEO of GECOM bears testimony to the racial discrimination and the biasness which has taken a stranglehold on the Elections Commission thereby sending a strong message that free and fair elections in Guyana is under severe threat. This is even more glaring when the second-ranked applicant who is of African descent is appointed by the GECOM Chairman. The statement made by Transparency International Guyana in 2017 that democracy in under threat by the unilateral appointment of the GECOM Chairman is becoming real as GECOM kicks into gear.
It is an undeniable fact that all the elections from 1968, 1973, 1980, and 1985 were massively rigged as well as the 1978 referendum and President Granger’s machinations to attempt to rig the LGE and the 2020 General Elections are now set in motion!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
RDC Councillor, Region
Six
