Time for GECOM Chair to bring elections to a close – Change Guyana

…urges int’l community to deal with “hybrid dictatorship”, riggers

Accountant and Change Guyana co-founder Nigel Hinds has weighed in on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling which threw out the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the APNU/AFC supporter Eslyn David case.

According to Hinds, David’s case was nothing more than an exercise to frustrate, delay and waste time. He made it clear that enough is enough, and a declaration must now be made in accordance with the CCJ ruling.
In a video broadcast, Hinds noted that while the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has become heavily tainted, there is still time for GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, to do the right thing and ensure a lawful declaration is made.
“There is another opportunity for the Chairperson of GECOM to act with the power vested in her and to make a declaration forthwith. We have circled the wagon for far too long. They have turned the Guyana election process into a circus…we cannot continue along this path. So, I ask Claudette Singh to act expeditiously in bringing this matter to a close.”
The accountant urged the de facto A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government to do the right thing and not return Guyana to the basket case it once was, when it was deemed a pariah state under former President Forbes Burnham. According to Hinds, it will not end nicely if the coalition Government continues to hang on to power.
Hinds also urged the international community to be ready to do whatever is necessary to hold those who are part of the rigging conspiracy accountable. Here he cited the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Caribbean Community (Caricom) and others.
“For over a year, we have been in a situation where the de facto Government has been using every crook, every nook and cranny, to deny what is clearly written in the constitution, and then to use the law to abuse the law. It is my opinion that they will continue to do so,” Hinds said.
“That is why it is important that the international community…stop singing and making statements and start taking action against the players who have dragged Guyana down to the point where voters are being disenfranchised, over 115,000 voters have been rejected by the Chief Elections Officer.”
He also made it clear that Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and the embattled former Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo did not act alone during their fraudulent acts. According to him, there is a statewide conspiracy that runs deep and across agencies.
“What we have here is a hybrid dictatorship that encompasses multiple parties. In my opinion, there are certain players…that have given aid to the de facto Government, and this can only be stopped, or only be recognized globally as totally unacceptable when this international community takes action against those who continue to defy the majority will of the people and the constitution.”
Among other decisions, the CCJ ruled on Wednesday that the Chief Elections Officer must produce a final elections report as ordered by the Chair, Justice Claudette Singh. The GECOM Chairwoman had instructed Lowenfield to prepare his report based on the certified recount results, which show that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) won the elections with 233,336 votes.
Instead, Lowenfield submitted a report invalidating over 115,000 voters based on unsubstantiated allegations made by the APNU/AFC. The CCJ has since ruled that Lowenfield’s latest report is invalid, and that the concerns raised by the APNU/AFC coalition must be addressed in an elections petition.