…calls for immediate apology and retraction
THE Ministry of the Presidency has firmly rejected what it called falsehoods contained in a letter Mr. Kit Nascimento penned titled, “Granger is not innocent of attempt to force rigged elections on Guyana” and published in Saturday’s edition of the Guyana Times.
“Mr. Nascimento in his letter to the editor asserts several untruths and numerous inaccuracies that were clearly designed to besmirch the good name of President David Granger and to foster hatred for him in the society,” said the response from the MoTP.
The MoTP said that while Mr Nascimento is free to champion his own views, the ministry takes umbrage with the Guyana Times for disseminating those falsehoods into the public domain. “The onus is on the paper’s editors and publishers to ensure that it [sic] first checks facts before rushing to publication, and to ensure that it does not spread misinformation about the sitting Head of State.”
Among the untruths in Mr. Nascimento’s letter is that President Granger arrived at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) on Sunday, May 17, 2020, surrounded by “massive security” and ministers as he “imposed his presidential presence on the GECOM recount process.”
The MoTP in its response said that Mr. Nascimento and the Guyana Times must know that President Granger remains President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana until another President is sworn in. “He is, therefore, entitled to travel with the requisite security detail that is determined by the Special Protective Service.”
The statement said that President Granger arrived at the convention centre with his usual security detail. “No additional security measures were put in place to facilitate this visit. Video footage can corroborate this. The Guyana Times representative who covered the President’s visit can also attest to this,” said the MoTP in its response.
While at the centre, the President met with Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (ret’d) Claudette Singh; Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Mr. Keith Lowenfield; his Deputy Ms. Roxanne Myers and other officials of the commission. The President met also with the CARICOM high-level team, the statement said.
President Granger, after his walk through at the ACCC, later held a press briefing at the National Aquatic Centre located across the road from the convention centre.
“Mr. Nascimento claims in his letter that the Head of State was [obliged by] “the Chairman of GECOM to join him at his side.” This is patently false. The President was not accompanied by Justice Singh at the press briefing.
Mr. Nascimento peddled this untruth and the Guyana Times, despite having its own representative at the press briefing with whom the paper can certainly check, published this lie,” the statement said.
It noted too that Mr. Nascimento’s claims that the President refused to answer questions is also a falsehood and the ministry encourages him to recall correctly, the events at the press conference.
“Mr. Nascimento’s blatant attempts to twist the words uttered by the Head of State, again, reveal his narrow political motives at the expense of the truth. Mr. Nascimento has not presented a shred of evidence to support any of his assertions against the sitting Head of State and should therefore desist from making spurious claims,” MOTP stated.
“The Ministry of The Presidency urges Mr. Nascimento and all right-thinking Guyanese to refrain from attacking the good character of the President. President Granger remains the President [and] maintains that he has respect for Justice Singh and will abide by the decision of the elections commission,” the statement concluded.
