Politicians have always enjoyed many privileges ascribed to them by way of the role that they play in government and society. By the very nature of their jobs, they enjoy far more privileges than any other group of workers, business owners or employees. Nonetheless, we must remember that politicians are public servants and in certain instances, they are duty bound to publicly comment on matters of public interest that fall within their purview as and when the need arises. Consequently, politicians and members of the media corps ordinarily work together in order to ensure that the public is kept abreast with all the latest news and relevant developments.

Due to the ongoing nature of the March 2 Regional and General Elections and the subsequent National Recount, politicians and members of the media corps have been enjoying daily interactions with each other in order to achieve the goal of keeping the electorate informed on latest developments as it pertains to the National Recount.

Not one to miss out on an opportunity to speak to the media, Mr. Jagdeo’s relatively low profile in the media over the last couple of weeks has caused much speculation. So, when Mr. Jagdeo returned to our camera screens this week, this publication was eager to pose a number of questions to him regarding the National Recount. When pressed on the basis upon which he claims that the Returning Officer’s results for Region 4 were fraudulent, Mr. Jagdeo became clearly annoyed. What then ensued was a refusal by Mr. Jagdeo to answer questions posed by a Senior Reporter of this publication because according to Mr. Jagdeo; “Chronicle is ANPU’s mouthpiece and I am not taking any further questions from you because you are spreading the lies”.

Thankfully, other members of the media corps objected profusely to Mr. Jagdeo’s refusal to answer the question posed by the Chronicle Senior Reporter and he eventually bowed to the pressure and provided an answer. Mr. Jagdeo’s attitude is troublesome and when confronted with the blatant lie in his assertion, he refused to be picked up on it by our Senior Reporter. To be clear, Mr. Jagdeo claimed that the Returning Officer’s results for Region 4 were fraudulent however when confronted with the facts of the Court’s ruling, Mr. Jagdeo did not wish to answer the question because if he provided an honest and factual answer, it would have undermined his narrative of electoral fraud. For clarity’s sake, the Court rule that the Returning Officer did not comply with section 84 of the Representation of the People’s Act however the declaration made on the 13 March was not found to be fraudulent according to the official court ruling and as such has remained on the Guyana Elections Commission’s website.

Following pressure from other members of the media corps, Mr. Jagdeo then posited that both declarations were fraudulent and that he has evidence of such wrongdoing based on written notes taken by other contesting parties and International and local observers. Mr. Jagdeo claims that he has demonstrated 20 cases so far that the PPP/C Statements of Poll match those of the Guyana Election’s Commission. Mr. Jagdeo further asserted that the Returning Officer’s declaration had been done in favour of ANPU and that in 20 boxes he had inflated the APNU figures by over 1500 votes and took over 175 votes from the PPP/C. Mr. Jagdeo remains confident that at the end of the recount we will have the tabulation and we will see what the final result is and whether or not it matches the Returning Officer for Region 4’s figures which are on GECOM’s website or those of the PPP/C.

Members of the media corps clearly expressed disdain for Mr. Jagdeo’s allegation against this publication and the Senior Reporter whose questions he refused to answer. The Guyana Chronicle takes issue with allegations that this publication is responsible for spreading lies when what clearly transpired was an attempt to fact check an assertion which was misrepresented as a matter of fact when in actuality, it was an opinion.

Mr. Jagdeo’s opinions have helped to bolster the PPP/C narrative of electoral fraud and if it were not for astute and credible arbiters of the truth and fact, the PPP/C would continue to promulgate a false narrative which if left unchallenged may be mistaken for the truth. The Guyana Chronicle reports on the facts as have been determined by the relevant authorities which in this instance are the Courts of the land and the Guyana Election’s Commission.

Mr. Jagdeo is of the ilk of politician who believe that they are not bound by the truth and may use the media to disseminate whatever agenda they wish to inculcate upon the minds of citizens. Indeed, there are publications where this strategy of alternative information is commonplace however the Guyana Chronicle is no mouthpiece for any contesting party.