Honour Owen Arthur with declaration of election results 

Dear Editor,
In Owen Arthur’s death, Guyana has lost a champion of free and fair elections and an avid fan and promoter of Guyanese cuisine. I never saw a person stand up so courageously against electoral bullyism and an attempt to ‘thief’ an election. We owe him a debt of gratitude. May the memory of Owen Arthur be honoured in the declaration of the election results.
When Guyana first experienced electoral fraud, Arthur was just a young man. He must have read about electoral frauds in Guyana between 1966 and 1992 and probably did not believe it could happen in such a bold-faced manner. He finally witnessed fraud in March 2020, and he condemned it aggressively and vociferously, not mincing words even in the presence of Government officials and security forces. He was deeply concerned about democratic governance in Guyana and was not going to be a party to fraud.
He was diplomatic and undiplomatic in his tone, signalling to the Government and GECOM that he was no pushover, and that he meant business. He was a small man but a giant in standing up for principles pertaining to democracy. He was not prepared to compromise his integrity in support of fraud. His credibility as an observer, Head of Commonwealth Mission, was on the line. And he was not prepared to trade it for perks or to yield to threatening and intimidation tactics.
Arthur was never really viewed by Guyanese as very friendly towards (illegal) Guyanese immigrants in Barbados when he was Prime Minister. It was largely under his tenure that many (illegal and criminally oriented) Guyanese were deported from Barbados as they were burdening the economy. Tens of thousands of Guyanese settled in Barbados going back to the height of the PNC dictatorship. He had stated that Barbados could not handle the burden of accepting so many Guyanese who had escaped ethnic persecution (during the 1960s to 1992) and later poverty in their homeland.
He urged Guyanese to remain home and contribute to the development of their country, and he also lectured the Guyana Government to attend to their economy rather than focusing on the treatment (sent to a special bench) of Guyanese in Barbados airport. Arthur would make up for ill-feelings among Guyanese when he championed free and fair election in Guyana in 2020.
He stood tall when he condemned the flagrant tabulation irregularities. In conversations with others, he felt the hurt of Guyanese when elements at GECOM, at the behest of the incumbent coalition, attempted to rob them of a democratically elected Government. Arthur really stood tall, as few others did, in standing up for Guyanese against the fraud.
Arthur was present several times at Cara Lodge at breakfasts, having tea, and engaging in conversations with other observers. He interacted closely with the former Prime Minister of Senegal, Aminata Toure, the Co-Chair of The Carter Center Observer Team, and several other eminent observers from around the Commonwealth, Europe, Americas and Caribbean. They spoke endlessly trading observations and comments about the fraud perpetrated by GECOM officers. They reminisced about experiences in Guyana and their encounter with Minister Karen Cummings.
There were unforgettable scenes with the Minister and with the observers interacting at Cara Lodge, Pegasus, and elsewhere. Arthur showered praises on the Commonwealth technical observers for guiding GECOM in holding a free and fair election. In appealing to GECOM to conduct a correct count, he noted that it would reflect badly on the two technical advisers (one from India and one from Ghana) if the count were to be rigged. He wished if the Chair would do the honourable thing.
I would wait around long after press conferences to listen to conversations among observers on what they think about my country and Guyanese. At times, Arthur didn’t care about what he said when interacting with colleagues outside of official press conferences. I unassumingly tried to listen in to conversations among observers about the fraud. He didn’t seem to mind my presence, perhaps viewing me as ‘friendly territory’ since I was among credible observers.  He did not have pleasant things to say about our President, the Government, and the Foreign Minister. He indicted all of them for fraud and even some in GECOM (whose names I won’t reveal). He could not believe that riggers would be so boldface about the fraud.
I overheard Owen Arthur several times excoriating Guyanese politicians for attempting to perpetrate fraud on their nation. And they did it shamelessly in the presence of observers. I also overheard him assailing the officers of GECOM when they sought to manipulate the vote count to declare the incumbent as the winner. He, like all observers, was appalled by the reckless and ill-advised efforts to propagate fraudulent count and he was disappointed that the Chair did not intervene to stop the fraud.
He was most courageous in speaking out against the electoral fraud of March 4 and 6 even when he was threatened with cancellation of his accreditation and deportation. I would never forget the scene where he took out his accreditation ID and handed it to our Foreign Minister. He stood tall in that exchange. That scene will remain etched in the nation’s history. He did not care for his own safety that he traded for principles.
Arthur regretted he could not prevent the fraudulent count in Guyana. He apologised to those of us he spoke with for inability to stop the fraud. But he exposed it, and over a snack at a table at Cara Lodge, he was heard saying APNU lost and PPP won. He was overheard telling waiters “I don’t understand why APNU would not accept they lost”.
Arthur helped to make a difference in exposing fraud in Guyana and focusing media attention that makes it virtually impossible to negative the narrative that the incumbent lost.
I found Arthur to be warm and kind-hearted. He shared his meals and seemed at times to acquire lunches for others because I saw him distributing bags with food. He loved Guyanese food and spoke highly of our chowmein, dhal puri, pepper pot, curried chicken, and other cuisines. He binged on pepper pot (not heart-friendly). He was always jovial. Even when upset, as with the electoral fraud, he smiled. Though a former PM, he was down to earth and humble not like some Guyanese politicians.
I will never forget this man. Vivid images of his interactions in Guyana keep popping up in my brain. He really batted for Guyanese against electoral fraud. The nation is grateful that he had the courage to speak the truth about what happened at GECOM. Will GECOM honour him by quickly declaring the results or do we have to continue to wait for a declaration long after he is buried? For Arthur, GECOM is responsible for the election stalemate. GECOM should honour him with a declaration within hours of the COA ruling where the appeal is to be dismissed as expected.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram