No need for protest or violence – Phillips on deceitful CEO report

…urges Guyanese to give GECOM chance to arrive at solution

Acknowledging that many Guyanese are dejected and frustrated with the latest deceitful actions of those desperately clinging to power, Prime Ministerial Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Mark Phillips is pleading with them to remain calm.

His appeal came on the heels of the submission of a fraudulent report by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield – a move that is considered to be another blow to democracy and has resulted in a further delay to an already protracted electoral process.
With the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) slated to now meet on Monday to discuss the way forward, Phillips is urging the public to be a little more patient.
“Continue to be calm, there is no need for any protest or any violence. Let us allow a couple more days for GECOM to bring to an end this electoral issue and to have a declaration so our President-elect can properly assume his office as President of Guyana,” he stated on Saturday during a virtual press conference alongside the party’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali.
“Let us be patient over the weekend and let us give GECOM another opportunity to arrive at a solution so we can declare the elections and have our President sworn in as soon as possible,” Phillips reiterated.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Dr Ali, who stated: “my fellow Guyanese, as you continue to exercise patient [and] tolerance, I ask you to remain peaceful. I ask you to remain respectful of each other, because the end results of this all must be that democracy triumphs.”
Meanwhile, the PPP/C’s Prime Ministerial Candidate lamented the current situation the country finds itself in, criticising those who continue to hold the country at ransom.

Particularly, he bemoaned the fact that the present political impasse coupled with the illegitimate Government is affecting the security and health sectors of the country as well as the productive sectors of the economy.
“This political impasse has affected not only the economic but continues to pose a challenge to our security as a nation; our internal security and our external security,” he stated.
“You’re aware that we have challenges pertaining to both our internal and external security and you are aware that there has been an increase in robberies and this can be linked to the electoral impasse in our country,” Phillips, a former Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) stated.
Turning his attention to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, as of July 11, claimed the lives of seventeen persons in Guyana, Phillips expressed that “our people are suffering, especially as it pertains to the pandemic simply because the Government’s response to this pandemic has been ineffective.”
In fact, he accused the APNU/AFC players in Government of being too caught up with trying to illegitimately remain in office instead of focusing on tackling this global public health crisis in an effective manner.
“We have an illegitimate Government that continues to hold on to office after losing the election and, therefore, their focus is on remaining in office after they would have lost the elections and this has certainly affected their posture in dealing with the pandemic,” Phillips contended.
Meanwhile, the former army boss reiterated his appeal to the members of the country’s security forces – the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force – urging them to continue to conduct themselves in a professional manner and to only follow lawful orders.