…commissioner laments ‘venomous’ attacks by opposition

A COMMISSIONER on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has said that he is fearful about the safety of the chairman amid a ramping up of attacks against him from members of the opposition.

Desmond Trotman, in a lengthy letter to the newspaper, said commissioners nominated by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on GECOM have embarked on a concerted plan to undermine the work of the body raising in the public sphere, their version of developments at meetings, whether they be statutory or special. “At the outset I wish to state that the views expressed here represent my perception of the PPP-nominated Commissioners’ versions of events, which in my opinion, are characterised by half-truths, downright lies and deliberate misrepresentation of what actually takes place at the meetings of the Commission,” Trotman said in his letter.

He added: “I believe that the primary reasons for these so called revelations, which have nothing to do with setting the records straight, are intended (1) to undermine confidence in both the Chairman, Hon. Justice (retired) James Patterson and Commissioner of Registration/Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield, which will result in the CEO being removed and in the case of the chairman, pressuring him to offer his resignation; and (2) to have them replaced by persons amenable to the machinations of the PPP for the forthcoming 2020 General and Regional Elections and beyond.”

Trotman said to succeed in their quest, a well-orchestrated campaign is being waged by the PPP “to hold these two persons and the three commissioners not affiliated to the PPP, up to public ridicule. It is noticeable that from the moment Justice Patterson was announced as Chairman of GECOM by President David Granger, there have been a number of vicious attacks, led by the PPP, on his person.” Trotman said accompanying these attacks, again led by the PPP, are the allegations that his appointment to the position is intended to lay the foundation for the rigging of the 2020 elections. “These allegations are not directed exclusively to Justice Patterson, but also include the CEO, Keith Lowenfield and those commissioners at GECOM who they refer to as PNC and WPA Commissioners – Charles Corbin, Vincent Alexander and Desmond Trotman. The three named commissioners have made it very clear that they do not represent any political party on the commission but are members of a constitutional body. However, in spite of the assurances by the three commissioners, the allegations continue unabated.”

Fear for safety of GECOM chair
Trotman said a point to note is that because of the perverse and vicious nature of the campaign to unseat Justice Patterson, “I am using this opportunity to publicly express my fears for his safety. It cannot be ruled out, particularly when it is realised that the campaign against him is led by no less a person than the leader of the opposition, that some misguided member/s of the PPP may construe this to mean that they now have license to plan and carry out acts of violence against his person, although this may not be what Mr. Jagdeo intends to happen,” Trotman wrote.

He called on the authorities to take note of the developments and try to ensure as far as possible, any danger which may be posed to Justice Patterson’s person, as a result of the venomous nature of the attacks on him, can be averted.
Mischief afoot

Patterson himself said at a recent news conference that these were troubling times at GECOM, noting that even at the last lap towards Local Government Elections (LGEs); several intentional obstacles are being placed in the path of the commission. “The commission has been experiencing, at every turn, designs and machinations to stymie the operations coming into force [for the coming election]. Mischief is afoot, internal as well as external. I find that very troubling,” Patterson said.

While the chairman opted not to speak on the external efforts to stall the forthcoming elections, internally, he said, that neither commissioners nor staff is excluded from the plot. He stated further that oftentimes private discussions at meetings are disseminated almost immediately afterwards to outside persons.

The chairman also addressed the issue of racism. He said that money remains the “source of all evil,” as Guyana’s pending oil wealth from its developing petroleum sector has given way to greed and greed to bad judgement. “It is even more sad to see that the default position of our politicians seems to be to play the racial card. It seems too, that integrity has been put in a blind trust. It seems to be our politicians have retreated into ethno-political camps and that has got to stop if this country is to move forward,” Patterson said. He is still confident that the best days of Guyana are ahead and reminded the public that LGEs are critical to local democracy. “I feel sad to have to report to you that since my regime here, it seems to be that integrity has been put in a blind trust. Fortunately, I have a cadre of operatives who don’t yield to that sort of description and they, as the saying goes, ‘hold my hand’,” Patterson said.

He warned: “So, anybody who wants to destabilise its work is tampering with democracy.”