Dear Editor,
The PPP took Guyana to the brink of conflict when it prematurely declared itself the winner of the 2020 elections, even before the count was completed. Then, as the count was ongoing, the PPP and its deception group of “INDEPENDENT” small parties began to cry about election rigging. But thankfully, Mr. Mingo’s actions trapped them into agreeing to a complete recount and verification process. That exercise exposed to the world that it was the PPP that was really trying to rig the elections. Now that their attempted heist was thwarted, it is time for the PPP to give up this charade and concede the elections.
The PPP’s desperation to regain the power it lost in 2015 was evident from the day after it was voted out of office. First, the PPP attempted to poison the will of the local business community by making some of them believe that the APNU+AFC coalition would collapse ‘within one year’. Then when that did not happen as they had hoped, they successfully found, and broke the resolve of the weakest Member of Parliament to pass a frivolous no-confidence motion. That reckless behaviour gained them nothing. The coalition was able to serve its full term, albeit under tremendous pressure.

Then as elections preparations were underway, the PPP managed to stop the process that would have helped ensured a credible election – the preparation of a clean voters list. The party successfully petitioned the court to stop the elections commission from removing from that list, the names of those who left the country permanently. Why? Why would the PPP want a bloated list that can give the PNC the chance to rig the elections? Any unbiased and reasonable person can answer that question.

The recent recount which was triggered by Mr. Mingo’s actions helped us understand why the PPP insisted on a bloated electoral list. It allowed them to issue fake ID cards for those persons whose names were on the list, but who died or left Guyana to live permanently overseas. An audit estimated that more than 4,000 illegal votes were of this type of fraud. But that was not enough. There were evidence of other types of illegal votes – for example, more votes than people on the list for specific polling stations, and in those polling places where they went crazy; the documents to prove the fraud conveniently were left out of the boxes. Unfortunately, those votes in those boxes therefore cannot be considered as valid.
Their desperate attempt to regain power through fraud unfortunately placed this country on the brink of a widespread conflict. PPP supporters began to sow the seeds which they hoped would lead to riots. Policemen were beaten, innocent people had their car windshields broken, defenseless schoolchildren were stoned while travelling in a Granger School bus, and they set fire to an APNU supporter’s way of livelihood – her butcher shop.
APNU supporters meanwhile, demonstrated admirable restraints and self-control. Because of that, the country avoided what could have evolved into a country-wide racial conflict. Now, after months of delays, the Guyana Court of Appeal has ruled that the fraudulent votes must be excluded from the final results. It is time therefore for the PPP to accept that its attempt to rig the elections has failed, and it is time for that party to concede.

Respectfully,
Max Mohamed