As the national elections recount enters its final lap, there is great tension in Guyana – which has been at a standstill since March 2 – over the approach by A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) in its hint of not accepting the results. This comes against the backdrop of caretaker President David Granger publicly committing to this acceptance prior to the recount.
The constant —- cry by the APNU/AFC, who by now knows from the recount that they have lost the 2020 General and Regional Elections, is a clear indication that they have no respect for democracy and more so the will of the Guyanese people. Since March 2, they have fooled and maneuvered their supporters into believing that they were in some way short-changed, despite the international, regional and local observers pointing to the fact that the elections were free and fair.
All of the observers have publicly stated that the elections were free, fair and credible up until the tabulation of the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results. European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponz Canto, in a recent interview on Guyana’s election, which was held three months ago, posited that it would have been “impossible” to cheat the systems that were in place on Elections Day. His comments come in light of the sudden epiphany by APNU/AFC, which has alleged that votes were illegitimately recorded; i.e.: that persons who are either dead or migrated are listed as having voted on March 2. These fallacious claims were suddenly brought to life after 1) the national elections recount exposed that indeed Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo deliberately manipulated the figures to fraudulently give victory to the APNU/AFC and 2) that the APNU/AFC will not retake the wheels of Government.
As we have said before the post-elections event have been a national embarrassment, and have made this country a laughing stock in the eyes of the wider Caribbean and international community. It clearly shows that after more than 50 years of Independence, some of our leaders have not matured politically, and are not willing to do the right thing in the national interest.
Caretaker President David Granger has always claimed that he would abide by the Constitution, but he has done very little to convince the nation that he is a man of his words. His firm grip on power following his government’s defeat via a no-confidence vote in December 2018 tells us as a nation a lot about his character.
The international community has already warned that Guyana could face sanctions if a President is sworn in based on the flawed results. It seems as if the APNU/AFC officials, including President David Granger, are unconcerned about these impending sanctions.
We couldn’t agree more with Sir Ronald Sanders, a Guyana- born internationally-respected diplomat, who on Thursday said, that as the end of the recount nears, the trial of democracy is heightening.
There is only one way to bring an end to this political which the APNU/AFC has lounged Guyana into and that is to respect the recount results. Failure by the David Granger led APNU/AFC will result in suffering of Guyanese as sanctions from the international community looms over our heads. We also support the contents of the letter by members of the United States Congress to Granger urging him to honour the results of the recount.
Guyana’s leaders of every political party, every race, and every religion now bear a great responsibility to their country and their people. They should seize this opportunity to show that Guyana is a democracy, and, within that democracy, they can fashion representative governance for all. David Granger and his party should stop holding Guyanese hostage. Guyanese indeed deserve political leadership that looks beyond narrow interests.
