Give up “illegitimate Govt” narrative – Ali tells Harmon to face reality

…urges him to be a responsible Opposition Leader

President Dr Irfaan Ali has urged the Opposition Leader, who has consistently claimed that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government is illegitimate despite it winning the 2020 elections by 15,416 votes, to give up his false narrative and be a responsible Opposition Leader.

President Ali made this statement on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of the eight Local Government Commissioners (LGC) on Monday. He was asked about the process for the appointment of the LGC. According to him, he has personally not consulted with the Opposition Leader and knows from his utterances that his baseless comments against the Government remain unchanged.
“Mr Harmon has consistently repeated, since our last conversation, the same narrative about his feelings about the Government. So that hasn’t changed… on more than one occasion I’ve made it clear. My role as President is to engage every Guyanese and stakeholder in the development of our country and the advancement of the lives of our people,” President Ali said.
According to the President, it is necessary for the Government to engage with stakeholders who will not act in bad faith. He urged the Opposition Leader to desist from the false narrative he perpetuates that the PPP is not the legitimate Government.
“There’s no compromise on that. But as I said in that engagement, there must be an acknowledgement that you’re dealing with a partner who, one, has great clarity in his own head that he’s dealing with someone he respects as the Government and two, he acknowledges as the Government.”
“What I would say is that Mr Harmon needs to get off this narrative that he’s comforted himself with for far too long, face the reality and act in a manner that is befitting the citizens of Guyana and puts Guyana and the people first. And if he does so, he will immediately correct his statements. And I put the challenge out to him,” Ali said.
The President has previously said that he would not engage with the Opposition Leader if he continues to undermine the legitimacy of the Government. While Harmon has said he is prepared to meet with Ali in the national interest, he has also maintained his non-recognition of the PPP Government.
Persons, including prominent Guyanese-Canadian Attorney-at-Law Selwyn Pieters, have called on the Guyana Government and Opposition to find ways of working together for the betterment of the country. In public statements on the issue, however, Pieters has recognised that this cannot happen if the Opposition continues to refer to the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic Administration as “illegal”.
According to Pieters, who was an election observer at the contentious March 2 polls and had spoken out against the blatant attempts to “frustrate” the tabulation process of the Region Four votes, it is time to move on.
In the aftermath of the controversial five-month-long elections last year, a number of high-ranking Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials have been investigated by the Police and charged for misconduct in public office and forgery.
They include Lowenfield, who on October 12, 2020, was slapped with six charges by the Police relating to forgery and misconduct in public office pertaining to his alleged role in the attempts to rig the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The CEO is being accused of attempting to undermine the will of the people by repeatedly refusing to submit the verified results from the National Recount to Chair of GECOM, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, for a final declaration.
The National Recount exercise showed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes. But Lowenfield had repeatedly refused to submit his final elections report with those figures, despite being so directed by the GECOM Chair on several occasions. However, he did submit unverified figures that would have given APNU/AFC the win.
Lowenfield eventually complied, paving the way for the declaration and subsequent swearing-in of the new Government on August 2, 2020 – five months after elections were held. Also before the courts are Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo and Deputy CEO Roxanne Myers.
Following the elections and its attendant controversies, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) scrutinising team had recommended a political audit into the functioning of GECOM. President Ali has previously said that persons for the CoI could come from Caricom, the Commonwealth or the Organisation of American States (OAS). (G3)