One would have thought that after the restoration of democracy following the historic 1992 election the legacy of rigged elections which plagued this nation between 1968 and 1985 would have evaporated from this land and a new era of clean elections would have permeated every entity in this country.

However, the political party which was the architect and perpetrator of rigged national elections has been at the focus recently following serious allegations of fraudulently conducted internal elections by a leading member of that party once described by a late leader of that party as a “creature.” He was subsequently expelled from the party but later readmitted.

The situation has deteriorated so badly that a former leading member of the party now overseas based has issued a public call for the upcoming leadership election in August to be independently supervised.

“In order to restore confidence in the party’s internal election process, I call on the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR to invite a reputable independent observer to oversee its next election at its August 2009 congress. Former Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, is an ideal candidate for this role.

This can only enhance the democratic process in the party and ensure that its election is conducted with the highest level of integrity. It is only through such independent certification of the PNCR’s next election results that the party can seriously begin to resuscitate its image and inspire confidence in its leadership,” the former member urged

It is indeed ironic that the issue of fraudulent elections has come to the doorstep of the party which developed the trademark of rigged elections in Guyana.

This scenario reminds one of the old adages: “You can take pig out of the sty but you cannot take the sty out of the pig” and “Old habits die hard.”

But this is not the first time that the party was accused by its own members of rigging elections. At the last congress of the party where there was a challenge for the leadership by a “dissident” group there was also serious charges of fraud and manipulation of the voters list.

These revelations are not surprising because the party in question is one that is obsessed with the power which has characterised its philosophy from its inception in the late 1950s. Its pursuit of political power has always superceded that of the national interest and that is why it rigged elections after elections to remain in power. That is why it orchestrated a nasty and violent campaign in the 1960s which was replayed in 1997.

In fact, “this obsession” power motivated that party’s founder leader to demand “leader or nothing” when he was a member of another party and obsession from then on guided his political career so much so that he agreed to a coalition with another party in 1964 after failing to win the election of that year-only to dump the coalition partner at the subsequent 1968 elections having devised its grandiose plan to rig lections to stay in power.

And so, the recent utterings by that party on the situation in Honduras where it is drawing an erroneous parallel and is calling on the Guyanese people to take the situation into their hands is not surprising because it is a reflection of the undemocratic womb from which it emerged.

This definitely is sending an ominous signal to the Guyanese people because one gets the impression that the obsession with power by that party s coming once again to the fore. As such all Guyanese should be ever watchful of how the power struggle within that party unfolds because it could have dangerous implications for Guyana.

To some this supposition may seem to be a far fetched done, but we must never forget that in the not too distant past a criminal, who was part of a notorious gang which created havoc in this country, appeared on a television station with his AK-47, describing himself and colleagues as “freedom fighters”.