… (of Caricom) falls
David Granger likes to use alliterations, numbers and mnemonics, possibly as memory aids. For the systemic poverty affecting children in the poor communities, he launched, for instance, his simplistic “5 B’s” programme – boats, bicycles, buses, breakfast and books — never mind he’d just shuttered 4 sugar factories and thrown 23,000 children of 7000 sugar workers under the bus.
Anyhow, as his myrmidons worked like little beavers to rig the elections to put him back on easy street for another five years, he came up with a 4-point summary as to what lay ahead after the recount: The numbers for the 10 districts along with the “observations” would be passed on to the Commission; They’d then hand off to CEO Lowenfield to “tabulate and summarise”; he’d do his thing and hand his report to the Chair; and lastly, the Chair would give her verdict on the whole shebang.
What he didn’t emphasise as we approached number 4, was that there was also going to be a report by the Caricom Observer Mission presented to the Commission. Working deviously and diligently through his minions to deny the Carter Center a return to Guyana, Granger had waxed eloquent on the importance of the Caricom Mission. He snarkily informed the US Ambassador, who’d intervened for the Carter Center, that CariCom saw themselves as “the most legitimate interlocutors in the Guyana situation”. “Guyana”, he sniffed, “equally is confident in the legitimacy, credibility and competence of the Caricom team to perform its task”.
Well, they do say one should be careful what one asks for. As the GECOM Chair and Commission prepared to look at the Lowenfield “Report” – where he’d done a number 2 on Granger’s number three to make it a manual for handing the PNC the elections on a platter – the Caricom Report arrived on her desk – and on the desks of the media houses. The “most legitimate interlocutors in the Guyana situation” delivered such a report, in such plain language about the PNC’s electoral shenanigans, that it would’ve made the diplomatic Carter Center blush.
But the kick to the family jewels was their conclusion: “Overall, while we acknowledged that there were some defects in the recount of the March 02, 2020 votes cast for the General and Regional Elections, the team did not witness anything which would render the recount, and by extension, the casting of the ballot on March 02, so grievously deficient procedurally or technically (despite some irregularities) or sufficiently deficient to have thwarted the will of the people and subsequently prevent the elections results and its declaration by GECOM from reflecting the will of the voters.
The actual count of the vote was indeed transparent.”
As the lawyers say, “The thing speaks for itself”!! And makes the Chair’s task very straightforward!
…with some details
Caricom and Guyana are family – that’s the meaning of “community”, ain’t it? And as such, we have the right to speak frankly to each other. If your family can’t tell you that your breath smells, who will? So, Granger and his “utensil”, Harmon, were completely out of order for suggesting that former Bajan PM Owen Arthur and incoming Caricom Chair Gonsalves couldn’t tell it like it is on the Guyanese elections.
The Caricom Observer Report was written in the same spirit of openness. They referred to efforts to have them join one party’s “tomfoolery”! As an example, they said they “viewed much of the exercise as a fishing expedition designed to gather data for a possible election petition, and which resulted in considerable time being wasted during the recount”!
Sarcastically, they added, “The net was cast extremely wide in the hope of at least making a small catch, and at times the anticipated harvest ended in slim pickings.”
Ouch!! That’s cold! even for family!!
…after the 4Cs
Speaking to reporters, Granger informed that for the recount, he looked at “4Cs”: the Constitution, the Court, the Commission, and CARICOM.
Well, he forgot a fifth “C” – Claudette!!
