Nandlall alerts international observers, police to “dangerous” Opposition election rhetoric

Executive Member of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Anil Nandlall, SC has written to international and local observers as well as the Commissioner of Police about the potential threat to peaceful elections posed by at least two opposition parties.
During his “Issues in the News” programme on Tuesday, Nandlall made reference to recent comments made by leaders of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) parties.
He recalled that WIN’s Presidential Candidate, United States-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, is quoted as telling supporters that his party will win the elections, that they will win Region Seven, they will win Region Eight, or they have already won Region Seven, they have already won Region Eight, and they will win Region Six. And if the results are apparently different, they will not accept it.
Nandlall highlighted that APNU’s Presidential Candidate Aubrey Norton made similar remarks to his support base.

“When statements are made of the type and quality made by Aubrey Norton and Azruddin Mohamed, in the historical context of Guyana, one cannot ignore them,” the seasoned politician explained, as he went on to condemn the utterances.
“They are irresponsible, they are inflammatory, and there is no basis for those statements to have been made in the first place,” he said.
According to Nandlall, who is also the country’s Attorney General, the various electoral observers’ missions in the country as well as the police have been notified of these developments.
“These are statements that can have serious consequences, as we have seen, and as our historical experiences have shown. On behalf of the Government of Guyana, I have written to all the international foreign observers currently in the country, drawing their attention to these dangerous publications by these political leaders. I have written to every accredited local observer and sent them a similar message,” Nandlall noted.
“And these matters have also been formally drawn to the attention of the Commissioner of Police. We don’t want violence in this country. We don’t want social disorder in this country,” he added.
According to Nandlall, Guyana has been embroiled in such uncivilised and undemocratic conduct for too long.
He expressed, “our country has graduated, and it is at a particular precipice of standing internationally. And I hope that these political leaders will not drag us back to that state of lawlessness and semi-anarchy that they had dragged us to in the past.”
Referring particularly to Norton’s remarks, Nandlall contended that the APNU (which largely comprises the People’s National Congress) has a history of electoral malpractices.

“The PNC has had a long history of not only rigging elections but also attempting to rig elections. And the attempt was as late as, or the attempts were as late as, 2020… The PNC also has a long history of executing violence or encouraging violence in relation to elections. You have the 1992 elections, where the PNC refused to accept the legitimate results of those elections, elections that were observed by international, foreign, and local observers… And because the results were not of their liking, we had violence in the streets of Georgetown. Buildings were burnt, people were beaten, people were robbed, they were looting, there was fire, violence, and disruptions that lasted for days. 1997 elections, again, they lost, even by a greater majority. Again, the elections were observed by international and foreign observers and local observers and certified to be free and fair. Yet, you had violence, intense violence, in 1997. Buildings burnt, violence lasting for weeks, roads blocked across the country, fires lit all over the place, and a lot of people being beaten and robbed and molested,” he said.
“…2001, again, they lost the elections. Again, they told their supporters not to accept the results, telling them, as they did on the three previous occasions, that they won the elections. And again, that led to mayhem, robbery, violence, arson, burning, looting, and beatings of people. So, against that backdrop, and that history of violence associated with elections, violence that stemmed directly from political leaders telling their supporters not to accept the results,” Nandlall reminded.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken has already warned that “any attempt to create disorder, intimidate others or break the law will be dealt with swiftly.”
Guyanese head to the polls on September 1 to vote in the country’s General and Regional Elections.
President Irfaan Ali of the PPP/C is seeking re-election and is running against five opponents: APNU, AFC, WIN, FGM and LJP.
The PPP/C is campaigning on a track record of delivered promises and has maintained that it is the only viable option to take the country forward.
Already, some 8700 members of the Disciplined Forces have voted ahead of the September 1 polls.
The security forces have been intensifying their training for the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Particularly, the Guyana Police Force has received support from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in crisis management training.
Police officers have also received training on crowd management and communication protocols.
Hicken has noted that the likelihood of election unrest remains low but assured that the Tactical Services Unit will maintain the highest level of readiness to respond decisively should the need arise.
The last general and regional elections were conducted on March 2, 2020. However, litigations, protest actions, a national recount exercise and attempts by the incumbent APNU+AFC Coalition to derail the process led to an increase in police interventions across the country to maintain peace and order.
The results were eventually declared on August 2, 2020, leading to the swearing-in of President Irfaan Ali.