Dear Editor,

AT the close of poll on March 2, 2020, the General and Regional Elections were adjudicated free and fair by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Over the years, GECOM had always been extremely sluggish in delivering the results, but this year, Guyanese were hopeful that there would be a declaration, and a swift swearing in of a President.

Remember, we had already been told that the Election had to be conducted with a list of Electors of in excess of 600,000 persons, out of a population of 750,000, which was the initial worry of the electorate. The PPP did not want to sanitise the list. But why? Remember, Anil was allegedly caught red-handed by Minister Ally on Elections Day as he was allegedly cited for distributing Identification Cards of persons who were either dead or overseas to persons to vote on their behalf. However, the ‘Coalition’ looked past these small anomalies. Who would have even envisioned what was about to materialise in the subsequent weeks to follow?

As an astute political nation grew anxious for the imminent announcement, respectfully, His Excellency David A. Granger kept reassuring the people that GECOM has their mandate to ensure a credible elections, and urging them to remain patient and calm, while the People’s Progressive Party Civic had their heinous, devious and destructive plans to execute. On Wednesday night, the process for tabulation of Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica) were halted. Here is where the process went haywire, as disagreements to how the Statements of Poll were to be verified by use of the spreadsheet (something that the current GECOM staff had inherited since 2006; and the same method was used to verify all the other regions).

Louder and louder the cry was sounded by the Opposition, that the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) were behind the discrepancies, and that GECOM had colluded with the ‘Coalition’ to steal these elections. The plan had begun to unravel. Remember, Region 4 had the most electors, and was deemed the deciding factor for the 2020 elections.

The People’s Progressive Party clashed with the police as they attempted to invade the office that the Chairman of the Commission operated out of, with video evidence of Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the PPP in the middle of the melee, shouting and carrying on, as Mingo was declaring, to a loud cry of, NO! in his office. While the Opposition was kicking down the door of the other office, Mrs. Singh, probably scared out of her wits, locked herself in for several hours. Hooliganism at its finest! The plan was unfolding, that the PPP wanted to hold this entire process hostage. On the other hand, His Excellency continued to tell the Guyanese public to keep calm; he continued to say he will not interfere with the work of GECOM, and kept admonishing the Opposition to allow GECOM to do their work.

By Friday, the supporters of the Opposition had blocked roads at Lusignan, on the East Coast, by burning tyres, and placing utility poles across the road, loudly demanding a recount. In this protest, we saw the blatant disregard for age as there were children holding protest placards. In their anger, some may even call it an act of terrorism, the protestors smashed the rear windscreen of a David ‘G’ school bus while taking children home from school, injuring several of them, and causing them to have to be taken to the hospital for treatment. One month after, still no apology from the joint Opposition. Further up the road, police could be seen running for their lives, and one cop was nearly hacked to death. Again, no condemnation for these atrocities. We were seeing the old Opposition at work; the same Opposition that threw down the gauntlet on this country for 23 years.

For several weeks, we have seen the work of the Ministry of Social Cohesion ripped to shreds; the country that we thought was free of racism truly wasn’t. Heinous acts, vile comments, blatant racism and death threats hurled at the ‘Coalition’; yet the narrative from the President remained consistent: Peace and calm; let GECOM do their work. The love this man has for this country is immense; even in the greatest turmoil in our political history, His Excellency has remained resolute in his stance: That he could not swear himself in; he had to wait, like everyone else, for GECOM’s decision.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic has gone completely rogue; highlighting something as serious as COVID-19, by going to the once responsible News Room and saying they had a task force prepared to fight the pandemic, and with a level of disrespect for all involved, placed Government in Waiting as their tagline. This is beyond callous, and far surpassed anything they had ever done before, with the most vile acts of disrespect on the Guyanese people, with an apology still pending.

Jagdeo is grandstanding; no matter the decision of the courts, he will say that the ‘Coalition’ has rigged the elections. This is his endgame: POWER AT ALL COSTS, even in the face of a pandemic, where the country is functioning on financial fumes. Even if the ballots are recounted, he will find an avenue to say the ballot boxes were tampered with. One is of the opinion that he not only has a Plan A, but a Plan G as well, with even more to come. He will never accept defeat; he has way too much to lose, and his actions are not one of a winner, but of a bully; that it is his way, or no way.

Our Constitution is clear! After the declaration of the results of all regions are made, the summary must be presented to the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, who then has to ensure swift movements are made for swearing in the President. And if the parties have an issue with anomalies of the election, they must file an Elections Petition to investigate same. This is the procedure.

Swear in a person of integrity, class, and accountability; a person who loves Guyana. His Excellency the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, David Arthur Granger. We need him now, more than ever.

I call on all Guyanese to ensure that the People’s Progressive Party Civic respects our Constitution, which is the supreme Law; respect the Guyana Elections Commission and let them follow that Law. We have an epidemic to conquer! Can we do it? Yes we can!

It is time again, Guyana!

Moving forward together!

Regards,

Douglas Gittens