Dear Editor

“THIS is unprecedented, in that I have never heard in the Commonwealth of a judge declaring an entire national election as null and void. Usually, they do so in a region or constituency, but not in a national election. This is unprecedented and has serious implications for the country,” said GECOM’s Head, Doodnauth Singh, S.C.

IT is a well-documented fact that after Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s demise the People’s Progressive Party never won another general and regional election in Guyana without rigging – cheating.

So it is that the 1997 elections which followed were so rigged that the court eventually pronounced them null and void — fraudulent. Ironically, this judgement was passed by the then High Court Judge, Justice Claudette Singh.

Voters around Guyana, especially first and second timers must be aware of the fact that many in the People’s Progressive Party are made up of cheaters; cheaters who try their very best to be bullies when their backs are against the wall.

Voters around Guyana, especially first and second timers, must be aware of the fact that many in the People’s Progressive Party are made up of cheaters; cheaters who try their very best to be bullies when their backs are against the wall.

After the general and regional elections were held on December 15, 1997, it was reported that the PPP won 29 seats, the PNC got 22 and the TUF and WPA got one seat each – but the PPP had lost the elections and they knew it.

Eventually, an election petition was filed by Ms. Ester Perreira on February 25, 1998. This petition was filed under Articles 60, 162 and 163 of the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act Cap. 1:03 and the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act Cap. 1:04. In the petition Ms. Perreira claimed the following: (i) the elections were not free, fair and valid and (ii) the results were affected.

That case ended in victory for Ms. Perreira, as well as the People’s National Congress (PNC). Justice Claudette Singh ‘vitiated’ this 1997 General and Regional Elections, putting Guyana into a new and extraordinary constitutional challenge.

The case did not conclude until January 15, 2001, when Justice Singh handed down a 77-page judgment, with further oral orders on the 26th January, 2001. Justice Singh deemed the PPP victory as null and void; that the PPP/C led government between 1997 and 2001 was not based on the verified will of the people.

Responding to the judgement, Head of the GECOM, S.C. Doodnauth Singh stated: “This is unprecedented in that I have never heard in the Commonwealth of a judge declaring an entire national election as null and void. Usually, they do so in a region or constituency, but not in a national election.”

Writ thrown over shoulder
In the first instance, a writ was filed by the PNC to stop Mrs. Janet Jagan from being sworn in as president, since it was well established that the elections were rigged. But Mrs. Jagan would have none of it. Upon receiving that writ at what was an apparent secret swearing- in ceremony, she promptly threw it over her shoulder.

Even so, the PNC ‘s supporters did not let up in their protest actions, which were done through the streets of Georgetown. The protesters went out in very large numbers and stated their case with much effectiveness, to the point of attracting the attention of the international and regional communities to urgent discussions.

These discussions ended in the Saint Lucia Statement, which was followed by the Herdmanston Accord. A key part of the Herdmanston Accord was an agreement to cut the term of the PPP/C led government’s tenure, but this was never respected by the governing side.

Desmond Hoyte, Leader of the Opposition at that time, said that the country was in a constitutional crisis; that the judgment by the learned jurist in ‘Esther Perreira v the State’ had set a precedent of juridical ambiguity that cannot be easily rivalled in this polity.

But Mr. Doodnauth Singh said of the ruling by Justice Singh, “This means that Parliament and the Cabinet have been constituted illegally.”
Janet Jagan’s reign ends
While the case was still ongoing, Mrs. Jagan announced on August 8, 1999 that she was resigning as President because of health reasons. She stated that she was no longer capable of “vigorous, strong leadership.”

At this juncture Finance Minister Bharrat Jagdeo became her successor. The interesting scenario was that Mr. Sam Hinds was the then prime minister and in line for the position. However, they had to do some juxta positioning. As the saying goes, he had to step aside and Mr. Jagdeo became the president and he brazenly stated, “It is business as usual.”

The fact is that the ruling of the high court came at a time when the PNC and some smaller opposition parties were also on the verge of forming what is now the coalition (APNU), along with the AFC. This was not a good time for Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo and his administration.

General and regional elections were then slated to be held on 17 January 2001, as stipulated in the Herdmanston Accord, but the elections were not held until 19 March, 2001. Evidence pertaining to the rigging of other elections by the PPP after the 2001 elections are very much there, but as not to crowd out this particular 1997 electoral catastrophe and the beginning of an evil empire of the Bharrat Jagdeo era, more will not be said here.

Regards
Earl Hamilton