Dear Mr. Editor,

IT takes a special kind of patience and unique faith in the Almighty God to deal with political puxa saca, opportunists, usurpers of authority and people who have no respect for the constitution, the courts or the rule of law. These types of people can be labelled hypocrites of the worst kind, but Mr Nigel Hinds is even more special: a man known by few and followed by fewer. This is the  man who consciously hoodwinked and bamboozled the less than 100 persons that followed the Change Guyana political Party into believing that he was going to be their prime ministerial candidate, then at the last moment bowed out of the race. Even though he knew that dual citizens could not contest the General elections; he knowingly deceived the few followers of Change Guyana and the wider Guyanese populace for one whole year.

The man who claimed that he couldn’t give up his U.S. citizenship for health reasons but looked perfectly healthy on March 9, 2020. He, Mr Editor, was intrinsically involved in the cabaret show, with the main opposition party taking the leading role at GECOM’s Region Four office, where they created a gladiatorial circus with  all the trappings of political infamy and complacency, as they stormed the building and broke the door of the GECOM chairperson’s office, disrupting the work of GECOM.

Most have agreed that their behaviour should have been condemned by all compos mentis homo sapiens, in this enlightened time and age.

Mr. Hinds and the PPP/y gang of political rascals on stage that night and days after, have shown the world, including some observers from different geographical regions, with their own interests, some who were regrettably embroiled– directly or indirectly– in this cocoon quagmire of political notoriety, placing our democracy at risk during an ethnically volatile time, leaves much to be desired.

Mr. Editor, I almost feel guilty for writing this letter as if I am aiding in giving Nigel Hinds PR, because he is a virtual unknown, but in this letter, I felt it necessary to address his missive dated March 26 , 2020, when he wrote to the editor of Stabroek News with the caption: “I congratulate President-elect Ali and look forward to a gov’t that is inclusive, transparent.”
One wonders, what prompted this letter? Is it that Mr. Hinds has no respect for the rule of law and courts, or does he question GECOM’s constitutional independence to do its work?  It is obvious that he has no respect for the court or GECOM’s autonomy, but also,  he has now revealed, he was a political pawn being used all along by Jagdeo.

In the  words of Mark Twain, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
His utterances were very disappointing, unsavoury, ludicrous and senseless. We are well aware of the extrinsic nature of his letter to the editor of Stabroek News. This letter was a PPP/ Mercury influenced letter, which was created to directly create confusion, spread lies and deliberately mislead vulnerable Guyanese. It is even further shameful Mr. Editor, that Nigel Hinds would even support a  man with questionable degrees and 19 fraud charges.

Mr. Nigel Hinds’ suggestion in his poor excuse of a scribbled gaga missive, where he ventured to accuse and insult the hard-working, honest and decent GECOM staff, of being involved in fraudulent conduct, without any shred of evidence being provided, must be condemned by all!

Furthermore, his claim of abuse of the court process, to delay the swearing in of the elected President, provides a very clear outlook into how  unscrupulous this so-called defender of democracy has no respect for our judicial processes and systems.
Mr. Editor, Nigel Hinds’ missive is a direct reflection of the PPP/C’s camp which comprises some of the most unpatriotic and anti-national human beings that have ever inhabited this country.

The so-called guardians of democracy and Nigel Hinds have no appreciation for the fact that in any democratic society, the judiciary is the final arbiter for acceptance of conclusions for differences and disputes in a law-abiding society.

The PPP/C has tried in a desperate attempt to vitiate, destroy and impair the legal validity of the declaration of Region Four results. They failed!

Their daily propaganda agenda aimed specifically to challenge the constitutional authority and independence of GECOM, was not only tried in the legal courts but in the court of public opinion, where persons like Nigel Hinds are spewing untruths, half truths and pure rubbish. Declarations from persons like Nigel Hinds threatened the constitutional independence of our agencies, the characters of their workforce and also put GECOM workers at risk of their safety.

Mr. Editor, Nigel Hinds is out of his loop with these political juggernauts. His juvenile and boyish attempts to gain supposed favours for his first jump “suck up” concocted “what if” and hypothetical scenarios he created in his mind,  will not work with the PPP/C elitists, chatree class nor on the Guyanese populace.

Mr. Editor, at this time, the lives and safety of our citizens are at risk with the imminent threat of covid-19. The so-called defenders of democracy  who guard heavily locked ballot boxes which are housed in steel containers with many padlocks and are further guarded by police officers are only putting this nation at risk as they refuse to practise social distancing which is vital at this time. When will the PPP/C’s leadership realise this?

Mr. Hinds should remain quiet on issues of a political nature, especially since he has no credibility, no influence, and he doesn’t make any utterances in support of the legitimacy of Guyana’s legal framework and the independence of our constitutional agencies.

This want-to-be-politician must first understand that Guyana is a full-fledged democratic society, where the rule of law, respect for our constitution and our courts must be adhered to.

GECOM has its work to complete, which is to make the final declaration. We are confident that is exactly what will happen because the courts have to make its declarations on those matters in contention.

Mr. Editor, We have a country to govern, with the ever-present threat to our citizens’ lives with the covid-19 virus plaguing the world. A country to govern that is now even more bitterly divided due to mistrust, revealed deep-seated hatred, dislike,  racial and racist bigotry due to the behaviour of irresponsible politicians from the opposition who claim to be defending democracy, while at the same time, propagating racism and disregarding the law.
The social cohesion of our society that is most needed at this time in our nation’s history has to be rebuilt with all parties being part of the process of rebuilding and playing a defining role in crafting a new and much more inclusive society for all of our people.
We all do agree that we have a tattered past, but equally so, we have a brighter future ahead and we all as Guyenese can and will benefit; but we must work together, with each other, as Guyanese brothers and sisters, to finally experience our long-awaited El Dorado.
Let us be cautious of those with interests that go against uniting our people and those who may want to exploit and take advantage of our fragility as a people and prevent us from experiencing a good life from the abundance of our natural resources.

Regards
Jermaine Figueira