As regional and international condemnation of illegal and unverified results for the March 02 elections continues, the accurate and verified results are still being awaited. With legally related issues being heard in the courts, it appears as though that timeline could further be extended. What is clear is that uneasiness continues to prevail in the face of the fraudulent results announced.
Once again, Guyana stands on the verge of returning to a full-fledged dictatorship that oppressed the nation from 1964-1992. When the legal verification and tabulation process using Statements of Poll (SOP) was abruptly ended and a winner indicated, democracy was snatched in the presence of the piercing eyes of the world.
It was the most blatant suppression of free will that one could have witnessed, and was done with complete contempt for the Constitution and disregard for people’s rights. It remains utterly perplexing as to why, having used the SOPs from political parties and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to verify and tabulate results for nine Administrative Regions, and having results declared that were corresponded and uncontested, the same could not be done for Region 4.
That process did commence in Region 4, and the three hundred plus SOPs used corresponded. However, during that time, and up to the point when the illegal declaration was made, it appears as no coincidence that senior officials of GECOM reported sick and others complained of being tired, leading to constant delays in the verification and tabulation process in Region 4.
Despite that, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) gave assurances to all present, including party representatives and local and international observers, that the constitutional process of verification and tabulation as reflected in The Representation of the Peoples Act would be resumed and continued to the end.
The subsequent action of the Returning Officer (RO) to abort the process and illegally declare unverified results for Region 4 is therefore wicked, disingenuous, and blatantly disrespectful to the Guyanese people and the international community.
Such action was nothing short of barefaced electoral rigging, and is a cold and frightening reminder of what transpired for almost three decades of dictatorial rule. It also demonstrated an uncaring disposition to the consequences that would inevitably be brought to bear on Guyana and Guyanese.
It can only be seen as the culmination of previous calculative actions, including President David Granger’s unconstitutional and unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson as the GECOM Chairman; of the then Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Vishnu Persaud being fired despite the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) finding that he was the most qualified person for the position; unnecessary and deliberate court action to defy the Constitution following the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion (NCM); and the audacious disregard of the rulings and consequential orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Given the illegal declaration of Region 4 results, it seems irrefutable that those actions noted were strategic to have a timeline along with cronies to effect what took place. Mr. Granger and his coalition have their SOPs, and know the actual results.
Having lost six of the nine Regions legally declared, they knew that the Opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) held an unassailable lead of some 52,000 votes with Region 4 still to be declared.
They must have known they had lost, for how else can the abrupt ending of the verification and tabulation process be explained? They must have known that, had the process continued in the lawful manner, despite winning Region 4, the margin would not have been enough to overtake the PPPC. With such knowledge, they knew that a mechanism had to be implemented to facilitate their stay in government.
Given what transpired, it is extremely difficult not to conclude that the illegal declaration and the subsequent clearing of the GECOM office, which left the SOPs out of sight of party representatives and observers, were facilitated by government cronies within the Secretariat.
Concerns about tampering with those SOPs are now rife. Given historical rigging, what occurred recently offers no solace over the SOPs not being tampered with.
The international community and Caricom have all deemed the declaration of Region Four results illegal, and have warned that Mr Granger must not be sworn in. Under these circumstances and in the face of sanctions, the President is expected to act in the best interest of the country and its people.
Clearly, it is not about who wins but about ensuring the process to determine the winner is lawful and transparent. Unsurprisingly, he has refused to lend his voice to call on GECOM to continue the verification, citing interference as a convenient excuse. That could only be interpreted as his willingness to accept an illegality through electoral fraud to extend his unconstitutional stay in office without regard to the consequences.
Ironically, everything he now opposes he had demanded adherence to during and immediately after the 2015 elections. Then, he was adamant that SOPs be used in the verification and tabulation process; now, he appears to be against that, having taken the illegal results to boast of swearing in for a second term. His hypocrisy is as undisputable as the disgrace he unnecessarily brought to the country. From all indications, Guyanese will not allow another dictatorship.
