Guyana could face serious setbacks in elections’ aftermath

Dear Editor,
Pivotal elections held on March 2, 2020 have unleashed a wave of uncertainty in our country; and that has pushed the pause button on several critical aspects of the country’s oil-and-gas development, and has prevented the people’s lives from returning to normalcy.
The many false allegations of vote tampering and the blatant thievery by the PNCR faction of the APNU/AFC caretaker Government have caused Guyanese to endure a 33-day-long recount process; and yet, any hope of a clear resolution has been dashed.
The ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Wednesday, which opened the door for GECOM to go ahead and declare Dr Irfaan Ali as winner of the March 02 elections using the certified recount figures – which showed the PPP/C winning the majority of the valid votes -has not yet been implemented.
The international community has increasingly called on the current caretaker Government to step down, but the result is still unsettled more than 133 days after the initial vote.
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has now ruled against the Guyana Court of Appeal’s injunction to block the declaration of a winner using the election recount results of June 8, which had the Opposition winning by 15,416 votes.
The path is now clear for GECOM to reconvene and declare an election winner. However, the GECOM Chairman has had to postpone a schedule meeting after Government-aligned Commissioners requested time to “study” the ruling handed down by the Court. This is seen as another delaying tactic by the Commissioners to stall the declaration of the results.

On Friday, GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield was expected to hand over his report to the GECOM Chairman, but up to 2pm, no report was handed in. Instead, the Chairman received a letter from Lowenfield, seeking clarity on several aspects of the reporting structure and details. It is clear that factions of the PNCR don’t want to see these elections declared, and this is yet another shameless tactic by the PNCR rigging cabals.
Today, PNCR have changed to a new narrative, calling for fresh elections. Fresh elections would end the political life of the PNCR. The truth is that this is another shameless tactic to delay the declaration of the final results, and possibly to facilitate some subterfuge in the making. Each of these actions is being noted by patient Guyanese citizens for future reference. Reckoning day shall soon come. Let us see for how long they will be able to sustain these nefarious artifices. Time and history are on our side, the side of Democracy and the Rule of Law. People’s Power shall triumph in the end.
Amidst the chaos, Guyana could face serious setbacks, risking previous economic projections and potentially reducing a recent flood of investments into Guyana. Even as oil wealth starts to flow into Government’s account, key policies and projects remain unfinished, and the country has not yet made firm decisions about how to spend the oil wealth.
Approvals for the next stage of Guyana’s oil development has also been delayed for months by the political uncertainty, and regulators seem reluctant to act without knowing who might be in charge when the dust settles.
Keeping development moving unfortunately seems to have become one more political playing card in an already chaotic situation.
Delays are likely to be costly. The country has taken in nearly US$100 million since oil production started earlier this year, with billions more on the horizon if development proceeds as planned. That’s revenue the Government would desperately need to jumpstart the post-COVID recovery.
Guyana also runs the risk that billions of dollars in investments may not always be forthcoming in a depressed oil market that’s making countries all over the world scramble to compete.
Historically marginalised and dependent on imports, this could be Guyana’s big year to finally reap benefits from its natural resources and invest revenues into improving living conditions for its citizens. The latest numbers from the Guyanese Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) show that over 600 companies are already working with the oil-and-gas sector in Guyana, employing thousands of Guyanese.
Millions of dollars have already been invested to develop a burgeoning local service industry for the projects. Training programmes have prepared thousands of Guyanese for jobs on the offshore platforms, and local businesses have seized oil service contracts as a much-needed economic lifeline. All that is at risk if workers and companies cannot count on steady development, moving forward.
Guyana has a golden opportunity under the leadership of President-elect Dr Irfaan Ali, who will outline to every Guyanese important steps to ensure that revenues are saved for the future. An elected PPP/C Government in power will be looking at annual oil revenues that easily exceed Guyana’s entire current gross domestic product in just a few years. Every Guyanese will benefit, and enjoy the future.
Our nation will be at its strongest when we are able to see and acknowledge that we are all God’s children — all equal in His eyes and worthy of His love. Across our great country, we have Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, and Jews and Buddhists, and so many other faiths. And we must all remember the wisdom of Gandhiji, who said, “For me, the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden, or they are branches of the same majestic tree.”
Fellow citizens of Guyana, we are one people in this country: Guyanese. It is our votes that matter.

Sincerely,
David Adams