…Coalition slams Bruce Golding for alleged partisan, biased report on elections
…says the former Jamaica PM is a PPP ally, should not be taken seriously

IN dubbing Bruce Golding’s position on Guyana’s Elections as “wholly partisan and biased,” Executive Member of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), Joseph Harmon, said the former Jamaican prime minister, in his capacity as Head of the Organisation of American States (OAS) Observer Electoral Mission to Guyana, fell short in acknowledging the irregularities that have been unearthed since the commencement of the national recount of the votes cast at the March 2 General and Regional Elections.

In drawing a comparison between figures declared by the Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, and the Statements of Recount published to date by the Elections Commission, Golding in a statement on Wednesday, alleged that the elections were compromised during the tabulation of the Region Four Statements of Poll.

But Harmon, hours after in a blistering response, said Golding’s statement is far from credible. “The APNU+AFC notes that Mr. Golding and People’s Progressive Party General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo appeared in tandem before the media – Mr. Golding virtually and Mr. Jagdeo at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. It appears as if this was coordinated and pre-arranged to deliver statements which were strikingly similar in content and style,” the APNU+AFC executive said.

He said it is no secret that Golding is a close friend and ally of Jagdeo and had been at the opposition leader’s private house, prior to serving as head of the OAS Observer Mission to Guyana. “Mr. Golding’s partisanship and unquestionable links to the PPP compromise him and no longer can he be considered an independent observer.

He has clearly demonstrated a bias for his close associates and appears to have now become an unabashed co-conspirator of the PPP as they seek to defy the will of the Guyanese people,” Harmon said.
Golding’s strong contention that Mingo had rigged the Elections in favour of the APNU+AFC, comes even as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is recounting the votes in the interest of transparency and accountability.

For the APNU+AFC, Golding, in his statement, ignored the fact that the recount was birthed out of an agreement between President David Granger and the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo. Further to that, Harmon said Golding turned a blind eye to the irregularities that have been unearthed since the commencement of the national recount on May 6.

“He… ignores the numerous instances of irregularities, discrepancies and anomalies which have been uncovered in the ongoing recount process amounting to fraud on the Guyanese people – dead people voting, persons who are not in Guyana voting, unsigned affidavits of identity in boxes.

Mr. Golding instead focusses on a declaration which had already been ruled on by the court and other documents issued by the People’s Progressive Party. He seems to believe that whatever the PPP puts out is authentic, ignoring the fact that a full statement has not been made by the Guyana Elections Commission,” Harmon said.

He posited that the posture displayed by the Head of the OAS Observer Electoral Mission is similar to that being taken by PPP/C. The PPP/C – the main opposition party – had published statements of poll on its website, subsequent to the elections, however, once the recount was initiated, the party, according to Harmon, was forced to take them down due to the massive variation. The PPP/C, since the recount started, has been vehemently objecting to the disclosure of these irregularities, contending that there are irrelevant to the credibility of the process, and focus should only be placed on the numerical counting of the ballots within the ballot boxes and nothing else.

Iterating his position that Golding’s statement is exceptionally partisan, the APNU+AFC Executive dubbed the actions of the OAS Observer Electoral Mission Head as grossly irresponsible and hostile to the nation and people of Guyana.

“Mr. Golding’s statement, coming from a former CARICOM Head of Government, smacks of gross disrespect for a sovereign state and for the ongoing process which has been supported by CARICOM. The APNU+AFC Coalition calls on all Guyanese to disregard these distant voices and pay attention to the unfolding situation at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre where the recount is unmasking the PPP fraud at the March 2, 2020 elections,” Harmon urged Guyanese.