NOW that the President has named a date for the much-anticipated election, we hope that this announcement would silence those who have been peddling the myth that the government does not want to hold elections. From the time of the events in the National Assembly in December 2018 to the present, the president and his government have been consistent that they would not stand in the way of the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The president has made good on his word that when GECOM signals to him its readiness for holding credible elections, he would act decisively.

The Opposition PPP did everything within its power to undermine the right of the president to have the final say on when the elections are held. They unsuccessfully sought to enlist the judicial arm by calling on the court to name an election date; they boycotted sittings of the National Assembly in the hope that that important organ does not function at its full capacity. They even sought to subvert GECOM, the very body that is responsible for conducting elections. Finally, the PPP sought to sell a narrative of gloom and doom to the international community that painted the country as a pariah state.

The truth of the matter is that the constitutional requirement enshrined in Article 6-6 was put on hold by the resort to judicial review by both the government and the PPP. When the CCJ made its final determination in July, it made it clear to the political actors that given the centrality of GECOM to the holding of elections, they should take care to “marry principle with practicality”. The PPP promptly ignored this recommendation, and sought refuge in an abstract constitutionalism. It was the president and his government that steadfastly sought, in word and deed, to be faithful to the CCJ’s recommendation.
So, in the end, it is President Granger who, despite pressures from all sides and ridicule from some misguided elements, has emerged as the champion of right over wrong. Only yesterday, the naysayers were braying to the world that he would not name an election date; they were vowing to mount protest demonstrations up and down the country. It will be interesting to see what their reaction would be, now that an election date has been announced.

The president and his government must be commended for withstanding the pressures to subvert the Constitution by calling an election without consulting with GECOM. This publication believes that had they done so, that would have represented a very real breach of the Constitution. We cannot have elections just for the sake having them. Furthermore, we cannot hold elections to satisfy the whims and fancies of one political actor; that, in itself, is a denial of democratic norms. Elections must pass the test of best-practices, and must have the full confidence of all competitors.

So, now that the date is set, let the campaigning begin. This will be a defining election. We hope that the campaign will be one of competing ideas and not one of competing insults. Our country has gone through a lot this past year, and deserves an election campaign that lifts the standard of its political culture. May the side with the more enlightened ideas and better track record in government win!

For Guyana’s sake, may the side with the better human rights record when in government triumph! And may the side with the superior capacity to manage a virgin oil-and-gas economy capture the majority of the votes!

In the final analysis, we have every confidence that the Guyanese people will make the correct decision.