More crimes revealed – who wiped the computers clean? Who took away the cameras?

The travesty of the attempted rigging of the results of the election in 2020 is still fresh in the minds of the Guyanese people, particularly those of us who stood unbent, resolute that the riggers would not succeed. The riggers kept the Guyanese people and democracy at bay for five long months. They brought shame to a nation. The world watched in disgust and in awe at the brazenness of the riggers. Persons with many letters behind their names, as part of the rigging cabal, were on TV and news conferences contorting themselves more than an American pretzel to explain away the many incidents of craziness that the riggers came up with to buy time and to rig the process and the results. Crimes were committed in the full view of the watching world. Many of those persons from within and outside of GECOM are in court, charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy.
But, as the CoI into the elections’ fiasco rolls out, even more crimes are being revealed. The first witness called by the CoI was the Chief Elections Officer, who took up his position just a few months ago. He was not there when the shameful events took place after the elections. He revealed what many of us suspected. The new CEO confirmed that the computers which stored the images of what took place at the Ashmin’s Building, the Region 4 HQ for the returning officer, and where the declaration for Region 4 results was to be made, were wiped clean of that footage. The same thing happened with the footages from events that took place at GECOM when the returning officer and senior GECOM staff moved the activities from Ashmin’s Building to GECOM itself.
The BIG QUESTION is: Who wiped the computers clean? And when? Given the circumstances, this is a crime. This is a matter that must not be allowed to go untouched. Those responsible for wiping the computers clean clearly must be part of the conspiracy and the ugly, criminal attempt to rig the elections’ results. The present Chief Elections Officer has stated under oath that when he assumed his post, he asked for those computers. Many persons had suspected that these computers would be wiped clean by members of the conspiracy group that worked within GECOM. It is a reasonable request that was made by the new CEO. Any person worth his salt coming into the position would want to know if that footage was secured, especially since this was a suspicion that was being openly discussed by the public. The new CEO has confirmed that the footage does no longer exist because the computers were wiped clean. We all hope that the CoI would use its influence and its power to bring in global expertise that can verify when this crime occurred, and if there is any way to trace who did it.
The cameras that captured the footage themselves were removed, but not secured by GECOM. Given the importance and the events that brought so much agony, one would have assumed steps would have been taken to secure the cameras. But the cameras were removed by somebody or some people. The CEO could not answer the question that the CoI asked, and that members of the public have been speculating over since August 2020. The public has been advised that GECOM had given a private contract for the electronic recording of events that were supposed to be public events. We are not aware that the question was asked and answered at the CoI, yet we all need to know who was responsible for the cameras and the footage at Ashmin’s Building. Surely, this is not a matter for us to reincarnate Sherlock Holmes!
If this was a private contractor, then payments must have been made, and contracts must be available. Where are they? Why can we not find out who the contractor was? We need to bring the contractor in to tell us where the cameras are, and who has the footage. If GECOM commandeered the cameras from the contractor, then the contractor must tell us who in GECOM or who other than GECOM staff took the cameras and the footage. Accountability by the contractor is not an option. When were the cameras removed or became inoperable? These are not esoteric, rhetorical questions. Answers must be provided, because these actions were part of a conspiracy and a crime, and the CoI must not leave such matters just for a report.
Crimes were committed in the period from March 2 to August 2, 2020 in the ugly, clumsy, brazen attempted rigging of elections. Former and present Prime Ministers from CARICOM were witnesses to the shameful, disgusting events. International observers, the Diplomatic Corps, all of them, including the ABCE countries, saw the events firsthand. In the middle of the clumsy attempt to rig the results, the then Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Karen Cummings, tried to threaten the observers to rescind their authorization to observe the elections and the declarations if they do not stop their “interference”. They were expected to stay quiet and not “butt” in.
Several of the main players have been charged. Others have not been touched. But it is clear that many crimes were committed. It would be remiss on the part of the authorities to leave these crimes to fester. Elections in Guyana must never again be threatened by people inside GECOM or outside GECOM. What we do now will be critical to secure free and fair elections in the future.