Dear Editor,
I refer to Minister Ronald Bulkan’s letter of June 1, 2017, wherein he attempts to paint the actions of his agent with respect to Mabaruma as democratic and within the law. Well, I must re-emphasize that this minister is clearly delusional.
Under the rule of law, specifically the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chap 28:01, the actions of his creature (the town clerk) with respect to the 2016 Mabaruma mayoral elections are clearly anti-democratic. Wrong is wrong, and even if the minister, with all his power, tries to play wrong-and-strong and attempt to suppress and bully the voice of the people, it does not make it right.
Even if people like me have to be a lone voice against this centralised attempt to rig elections in Guyana and violate the will of the people, I must not stop in my exposure of these transgressions. That great tradition that we fought for in 1992, with the help of people like President Carter, must not be suffocated by anti-democratic agents like those who rigged the Mabaruma mayoral elections in total violation of the rule of law.
If one reads the state mouthpiece (the Guyana Chronicle of April 3, 2016), it shouts “DEADLOCK IN ELECTIONS IN MABARUMA”. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “deadlock” as a tie, draw, dead heat, equal, and so on. Is the minister, in 2017, trying to redefine this truth? If Mr Bulkan is so confident about his numbers on the ground, why is he or his party afraid to face the people, so that his PNC-led Granger Government can win the Mayorship fair and square at the ballot box?
From the GECOM records, there are 12 councillors in Mabaruma – 6 from the APNU+AFC (PNC) and 6 from the PPP. In such a situation, where they cannot elect a mayor, the law clearly offers a path towards a resolution, and I speak specifically to Section 13(5) and 13(6) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chap 28:01, which states:
Section 13 (5) – “If there are two or more candidates for election as Mayor, the Town Clerk shall take the votes of the persons who are entitled to vote and are present at the meeting, and shall declare the candidate who secures the greatest number of votes to be elected; and, if, the Mayor having been elected, there are two or more candidates for election as Deputy Mayor, the Mayor for the ensuing year shall declare the candidate who secures the greatest number of votes to be elected”.
Section 13 (6) – “If there is no election under subsection (5) on account of an equality of votes, the Town Clerk shall appoint a day, not later than the 28th December in the same year, for the election of the Mayor from among such candidates by the voters whose names appear on the register of voters for the time being in force for the City”.
The law says the Mayor shall be elected “by the voters”, Mr Bulkan, not by the PNC! I cannot believe that Bulkan cannot comprehend these sections of the law. But there is a method to this “dotish” set of actions on the part of Mr Bulkan and his agents. These people clearly believe that the people of Mabaruma will reject them at the ballot box, and that is why we have all this electoral deceit and subterfuge from these anti-democratic agents within the PNC — who are led by Mr Bulkan.
I can empathise with the anger of the minister, because he has been caught with his pants down on this one, and to add salt to his public exposure, his mask also fell, revealing his dictatorial DNA. But it is not too late to repair the damage, sir. All you have to do is walk the process in Mabaruma back into the realms of democracy.
The longer the minister holds on to this anti-democratic path, the more support he and his party will continue to lose; because I know of many people who are watching this situation closely, and who voted for Mr Bulkhan’s party in May 2015. Today those very same people are saying, when they observe what is happening at Mabaruma, “same old PNC and their obsession with rigged election”. Is this how Mr Bulkhan wants his party to be remembered? That stain from Mabaruma will not be washed away easily, unless it is corrected.
Finally, I shall soon be dealing with this minister’s utterances on the Local Government Commission, but that is for another letter. What was said by the minister on this commission while in opposition is at great variance with what he is saying today. Did someone say he is a political hypocrite? We shall soon find out.
Sase Singh
Citizen of Guyana
