Fight for democracy brought about unity among smaller parties – TNM, URP reps

The fight for democracy and the rule of law to prevail in Guyana following the blatant attempts to derail the March 2 General and Regional Elections has brought about unity amongst the smaller parties that contested the polls.

This was the view expressed by Leader of The New Movement (TNM), Dr Asha Kissoon and Executive Member of the United Republican Party (URP) Rawle Aaron during a recent interview programme “Insight”, both of whom added that if the opportunity presents itself again, they are ready to take on the challenge.
“It brought about a unity among the parties standing up for democracy. TNM and my team members, along with the PPP/C and all new parties stood up and said that they will not accept it. And throughout that process, along with the support of international observers, we were able to have democracy in Guyana,” Dr Kissoon said.
Dr Kissoon, a newcomer to politics, recalled that the problems started with District Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, getting “sick” and subsequently reverting to a fake spreadsheet to declare concocted results for that District.
“That’s where all the parties had a clash with the APNU/AFC because they tried to support those numbers”.
Dr Kissoon noted the fight to get Mingo and others to comply with the law and do what is right for the country was not an easy task, but the smaller parties, along with the PPP/C, local and international observers and the diplomatic community stood up and resisted what was taking place.

“So yes we came from that far, but we were able to show the Guyanese people how serious we were about standing up for them,” Dr Kissoon added.
Similarly, Aaron posited that Guyanese can now boast of a new democratic Government being in place, but getting to this stage was not a very easy task.
He reminded that Mingo’s insistence in using a spreadsheet to document as against verified Statements of Poll (SoPs) to present his declaration for District Four was blatant, but a collective fight by the various stakeholders ensured that a fraudulent Government was not foisted on the nation.
“Let us remember that it was a fight and a struggle by a collective set of political parties that caused the swearing-in of Dr Irfaan Ali,” he asserted.

No influence
Meanwhile, both Dr Kissoon and Aaron shut down claims that they (small parties) were influenced by the PPP/C in relation to their actions following the five-month battle to ensure that credible results of elections were declared.
According to Aaron, President Irfaan Ali has indicated on several occasions that he is committed to working with all stakeholders to push Guyana forward. He noted that the URP is willing and ready to support any initiative of the current Government that would result in citizens improving their lives.
“We have supported the efforts of the PPP/C from the time they entered office, because we believe that what they are doing is favourable, and Dr Ali wants to ensure that every Guyanese participate in this country.”
“Of course persons are going to label you, but they are labelling us in relation to an act that the URP participated in, that we believe that is going to cause democracy to prevail in Guyana; and if we had an opportunity to do it again, we would do that again,” Aaron added.
Dr Kissoon noted that her party is in a unique position since, along with A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) combined, it has been allotted one parliamentary seat.
She made it clear that her party is not linked to any of the major parties, but intends to work with the present Government because it has extended an invitation to so.
“I believe that we can move forward as a country by working together, there is no doubt about it. We must stand up as a people united and push for the things that are going to improve the lives of Guyanese people,” she posited.
Kissoon added: “Yes, we can sit down, we can work together to have things done; we stood up for democracy and we will continue to do that.”
On Monday, Mingo was placed on $600,000 bail over four charges in relation to criminal misconduct, after allegations were raised that he attempted to alter the March 2 elections results in favour of the former APNU/AFC Administration.
In fact, it was Mingo’s attempts to alter the results of the elections that led to the National Recount exercise which ultimately proved the major irregularities in figures being called by the Returning Officer when compared to the actual numbers of votes cast.
Other senior officials of GECOM are also being investigated, including the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield – who is also currently facing private criminal fraud charges before the courts.
Former Government Minister Volda Lawrence also recently appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to private criminal fraud charges.
The PPP/C Government had affirmed its commitment to launch a forensic review into the events that unfolded after the March 2 polls and holding persons accountable for attempting to subvert democracy in Guyana.
President Ali, during his maiden address as Head of State, had said that his Government has an obligation to the nation and to themselves to ensure that no other generation of Guyanese is subjected to such unlawful behaviour which transpired for five months, when the country was embroiled in a major political and electoral impasse.