Dear Editor,
On March 2, 2020, a little over two hundred and fifteen thousand Guyanese exercised their franchise in support of the APNU/AFC ticket. I witnessed the ringing of bells, banging of pots and calling out the vote as early as 4.30 am in C Field, Sophia.
Good cheer and high spirits were on display even as the good-natured grumbles of those who would rather have slept in were heard. There was a clear belief in democracy and the right to elect a government of their choosing. Now that the party that these people voted for has turned its back on democracy, who represents them? And who can, or will, in the immediate future?
There is a leadership vacuum in the Peoples National Congress, and it must be filled by someone of impeccable character. For democracy to work best, a strong Opposition is a vital component.
Only a small percentage of these voters would endorse a system of government where the winner is pulled out of Mr. Mingo’s hat; and even then, only if their side were guaranteed to win that ‘Bingo’ every time. The vast majority, including the large block of Christian church goers, must be appalled at the machinations of David Granger, the man sold to them via countless images of him on his knees in church pews, devoutly praying; piousness personified in the picture, but all false piety in reality.
Various party members, supporters, and influencers are engaged in frustrating the electoral process whilst selling various ideas of shared governance. A few others have made statements of integrity, among them Dominic Gaskin (AFC Executive and Former Minister of Business) and CN Sharma, political leader of the JFAP, an APNU member party.
To those willing to subvert democratic ideals for ‘sharing of corn’, I recommend the following lines from Churchill’s address to the Commons in 1947: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…”
The silence by the most senior member of the PNC, Mr. Carl Greenidge, is loudest by its absence of comment. There has been repeated denial that he has been fired as Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; however, there was no paycheck issued during the last payday, and his name has been removed from the payroll of the Ministry. I have it on good authority that Greenidge was asked by David Granger to perform ‘damage control’ after Minister Karen Cummings’s disastrous intervention at the GECOM Region 4 headquarters during the Mingo fiasco.
Mr. Greenidge inquired of the President in what possible capacity he could engage the diplomatic community and observer missions, and bluntly refused to engage in untoward conduct that in his opinion could only exacerbate an already bad situation and bring further disrepute to the nation’s international reputation.
Carl Greenidge is a former victim of a rigged election. His challenge for the leadership of the PNC and the ensuing brouhaha are well known, including gunplay by Granger’s personal bodyguard Mr. Primo. I believe that a partnership with Greenidge and former PNC Chairman Basil Williams has to be formed to lead the reformation of the PNC and its rebirth following the actions of Granger, who usurped power in the PNC and is now replicating that on a national scale.
Those 215,000 people need honest and decent leadership urgently, before they lose their souls to the demons of dictatorship.
Respectfully,
Robin Singh
