Our national elections are over and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has declared the results, while local and international observers have hailed and certified it to be free and fair. 

The President and his Cabinet members have been sworn in and the government has already begun working; so it absolutely boggles the mind to hear that there is still talk about marches and protests.

One political party requested GECOM to make available certain Statements of Poll because it expressed some concerns about alleged inaccuracies, etc. This request was granted.
So what is the problem now? It would appear that there are some in our midst who would not like to see stability and continued development of our country and, instead, want to create chaos and anarchy which would satisfy their selfish, narrow and partisan political interests.

The progressive forces of this country must not allow those who want to have chaos and anarchy to prevail. Our people have suffered very much at the hands of those who want to destabilise this country.

It is time now for everyone to put the elections behind and work in unison and harmony for the betterment of our people and country. We simply cannot allow the lust for power to cloud our judgement with respect to the path forward. Differences there will always be, but the maturity of leaders and their respective parties is tested by the manner in which they go about resolving those differences.

However, just when it seems that we would have been returning to a full state of normalcy, another worrisome matter surfaces. That is the reported breaching of three containers at Coldingen holding ballot boxes from the just concluded elections.

According to reports, at about 14:15 hrs on Sunday, the onsite security guards, during a routine check around the containers at Coldingen, found that the padlocks from three of the containers had been pried open. 
A report was lodged with the police and the GECOM officials and subsequently both police and officials from the Commission visited the location and carried out checks on the contents of the containers. 
A statement from GECOM yesterday said, “All of the contents were found to be intact…all the Ballot Boxes were accounted for and the concomitant seals which were placed on them were patently intact.” 
According to the statement, whereas general security is provided at both locations, the containers in which the Ballot Boxes are stored carry two heavy-duty padlocks each.   
“The contents of the Ballot Boxes were uncompromised. New padlocks were affixed to the containers and security has since been intensified,” the statement said.
It added that the motive of the person or persons who pried opened the locks is unknown at this point in time, but investigations are ongoing  and the matter is currently in the hands of the police.
While GECOM is maintaining the integrity of the ballot boxes and its contents, the fact remains  that the locks on the containers holding the ballot boxes were tampered with.

It is in this regard that some questions readily come to mind, including: who is behind such a despicable act? What are their motives? Where were the security personnel who were guarding the containers? Was there collaboration between the perpetrators and the security personnel?
Of course, the answers to these and other related questions will be known after thorough investigations have been completed and if and when those culpable for committing such an act are found then they must be dealt with in accordance with the relevant law(s).

Immediately after the discovery of the tampered locks, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) commented on the matter, describing it as “a shocking discovery.”
Indeed it is a shocking discovery and one now has to consider whether there are other sinister moves being planned.