Dear Editor,
I AM writing in response to the article titled, “All are involved, AG, GTUC urge end to political stalemate”.

Of course, “All are involved”, meaning both the political opposition and the government, more so the PPP/C opposition, given the fact that it has been their orchestration of the treachery of the NCM, and all that has since resulted. It is a truth that has conveniently escaped those also complicit in Guyana’s biggest act of political brigandage.

But Editor, here we are, witnessing before our very eyes, the classical ‘con’ of those who would have engineered, and primarily are responsible for the mess, as had been the case with GuySuCo, seeking to hold the government responsible for same. This is where one realises how dishonest some sections of this nation have become. It is unbelievable what has been occurring in this country. TRUTH IS THREATENED!

One would tend to agree with the Attorney-General that there ought to be agreement between the two principal actors, which is not unreasonable, given the fact that it is lawful, and would be in keeping with the national Constitution. Moreover, it has a precedent that occurred in the Hoyte’s administration, in consultation with the then leader of the opposition. What is so difficult for the Opposition to revert to this legitimate principle, as it had done in 1990?

However crooked the causative factors that have brought about the current impasse, elections are to be held, but they must be credible, flowing from a national exercise of house-to-house registration, which stands at the heart of the current political stand-off. And since it is the government’s responsibility to ensure the holding of those elections, then it is its moral duty to ensuring that there are no shortcuts to such being a credible exercise.
No government that presents itself as democratic and upholds the inalienable right of citizens to elect a government and leaders of their choice will abdicate such a responsibility. This has been government’s position, and continues to be so. And Guyanese who believe in honesty and transparency ought to be appreciative that such a democratic principle is being upheld, in the face of shady and politically expedient arguments that can only spell social crises for this nation if heeded. In fact, free and fair elections must not be compromised or held hostage to any option, except credibility.

One notes the GTUC statement”…both parties must eschew the thinking of sticking to their guns, noting that there is a meeting of irrational aggression versus stoic defiance…”
Given the noble and just principle which the government, in its wisdom, is seeking to uphold, credible elections through a sanitised Voter’s List, it cannot be faulted for ‘sticking to its guns’; for defending the right of the citizens whose mandate it seeks to represent, one of which is the democratic right to free and fair elections in respect of the democracy in which they live. It is a cause worth any “stoic defiance” against the more than “irrational aggression” displayed by those who continue to use the media for disinformation and “grandstanding” that serves their less than honest interests.

Regards,
Earl Hamilton