…will GECOM take?
The Americans have a saying that’s very apropos to what we’re facing with GECOM and elections’ results: “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings!” And it sure doesn’t look like there’s any fat lady on the horizon about to belt out a number to end this farce that just keeps going on and on and on. Now, dear reader, you may be protesting, “Hold it!! Hold it!! Hasn’t Claudette Singh finally decided to grab the bull by its horns and voted for a recount, rather than going with her CEO’s Mingoed results??”
Well, that she has…but what makes you think it’s the end of this long and tortuous road that started back on Dec 21, 2018?? Haven’t we been here before?? Fool me once, shame on you: fool me twice, shame on me…but fool me a dozen times?? Jeez!! Your Eyewitness would have to be a sucker for punishment…a certified member of the whips, chains and garter-belt crowd!!
Let’s look at the latest announcement that has everyone in raptures: the above-mentioned decision by the Chair. But by now we should’ve learnt the importance of context, shouldn’t we?? After all, how many times haven’t you heard Granger unctuously insisting that he always acts in conformity with the Constitution?? By now, hopefully, you’ve learnt that his “conformity” was always in line with his “perception”!!
So, what’s the context of Claudette suddenly growing a pair, donning her suit of armour, and getting ready to play the “Iron Lady” role at long last?? Well, first of all, you have the Court of Appeal still in play, with the appeal by the APNU candidate Ulita Moore protesting any recount – even though she wasn’t given leave to appeal by the Full Court. Now, don’t worry, dear reader, your Eyewitness isn’t going to subject you to another disquisition on the rules of procedure on appeals in our legal system!!
As we know, in Guyana, nothing has anything to do with the institution, but all about the PEOPLE manning the institution! So, can you say what the Appellate Court will rule come Sunday – having already made sure that the recount will not start before then?? Like Dylan crooned, “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind!!”
And in case you’re not sure what that means, we’re told that “the answer is so obvious and self-evident that it’s in plain sight, blowing everywhere. But it can also mean that the answer is indeed in the wind, and trying to understand is like trying to chase the wind: pointless.”
Pointless, because the PNC doesn’t operate on any moral or legal basis: it’s seizing power by any means necessary!!
But it ain’t over till it’s over!!
…will the actual count take??
The GECOM press release announcing the “recount decision” had an interesting caveat: “Consequent to the foregoing, the Chief ElectionOfficer (CEO) was asked to
provide a framework for the operationalization of the recount. However, the CEO requested guidance from the Commission on a number of legal and procedural issues in relation to the recount, and once clarified, he will proceed to operationalize the plan.”
Now, as your Eyewitness is writing this, GECOM is in a second meeting to address these matters, but we’ve already sensed how the matter could play out. For instance, let’s say after the count of Reg 1, the PNC goes to the court, since for sure some discrepancies will found, as it’s inevitable in any forensic count? And they do this for every Region as we go down the line??
In the very best of circumstances, a total recount will take a month – which won’t start until some Foreign Team comes in to Observe. And we haven’t even touched the “legal” matters alluded to by the CEO!!
When will it end?? The answer is blowin’ in the wind!!
…will the Americans take?
US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch didn’t mince any words to the APNU acolytes who told her to “Butt out!”
“Guyana certainly isn’t Venezuela: let’s keep it that way”!
