…abused
Guyanese are slowly wising up to the realisation that, because the system allows them to get away with it, the PNC will be dragging out the elections results “till the ends of never”, or until they’re declared the winner. It pretty much amounts to the same thing, ‘cause once they get back in, they’ll make sure matters electoral never ever get this far. “But what about justice?” some will cry, “Aren’t the courts supposed to deliver justice?”
And this is what we also have to come to grips with: the very rules we’ve formulated to act as a shield to ensure we enjoy our rights (like choosing those who should form the government) can sometimes be turned into a sword, by folks who scoff at any sense of fairness, to deny those very rights. The situation is created because we’ve divided our law into two parts: one which defines our legal rights (like the right to choose our government), and the other, the means by which the enumerated rights might be maintained; like voting. The first is called “substantive law” and the second is called “adjectival law”, which is mostly about the procedure to be followed to deliver the first.
And that’s where the fly can sometimes land in the ointment. We know, for instance, that with the right to choose a government, the votes of the people must be counted to determine who has won an election to form the government, don’t we? So why the heck have almost two months passed and we can’t get some 430,000 votes counted?? And that’s where the procedures come in – both in the rules set up to have GECOM function and in the rules that the courts have to follow to decide whether the right has been violated, and to say how to fix matters.
Our rules of procedure mandate that, by definition, it must be contentious between the two sides; so the judge isn’t actually making a call for “justice”, but is anxiously watching out that an error in procedure isn’t entered on the record, from which the “smart fly” can appeal, and so prolong the process till the end of never!! So, in GECOM, rather than Claudette dealing with the fact that Mingo messed up with the procedure for tabulating SOPs at Ashmin’s (as the High Court had to be brought in to tell him)
she hasn’t thrown out his second tabulation (with the bed sheet at GECOM HQ).
We know, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, that if this recount ever gets completed, the PNC will use the procedural ambiguity of her calling for the recount without calling out the illegality of the bedsheet count!
And procedural law will trump substantive law once again in the courts!! Ah…justice is blind!!
…of the masks
So, dear reader, were you really surprised that the COVID-19 Task Force mandated that masks be supplied to the CariCom “watchers of the count” (not supervisors) and be changed every ½ to 1 hour?? If the 30,000 masks run out because this count is “open ended”, do we have “back up supplies”?? Another 30,000? Since masks are pretty much used to ensure that the person with the mask doesn’t spread the virus to others in their vicinity, does it matter that the CariCom persons would’ve been certified coronavirus-free? But how about the other local and foreign observers? Have they been tested?? If not, isn’t this discriminatory??
Have the project management types come up with the plan as to how long each mask change (MC) will take? Will the MC operation be synchronised time-wise; let’s say every hour on the hour?? Will a whistle be used to signal mask change time??
No. As explained above, these aren’t idle questions.
Each violation can, and will, lead to an appeal by the PNC.
…on the PNC
Word is that PNC types like Basil Williams are peeved that the army types are dominating the agenda about the party’s future.
Doesn’t it matter that Granger swore he was PNC to the bone since ‘65??
