Dear Editor

KINDLY permit me space in your letter column to publish this letter.
As a citizen of this beloved country, I have been following all the events leading up to and after the March 2, 2020 Regional and General Elections.

I wish to remind my Guyanese brothers and sisters that since May 2015, when the coalition took office, we have witnessed sustained efforts by the PPP/C aimed at disrupting the work of government; the opposition PPP/C was not willing to respect the will of the electorate. Failing in the first two years to render the country ungovernable, they crafted by betrayal a no-confidence motion with the lure of 30 pieces of silver, or rather, gold. on this occasion.

It is now approximately 114 days since Guyanese went to the polls to elect a government and the electoral process has not yet been concluded. These elections have been tainted by allegations of irregularities and a recount was commissioned under a “Gazetted Order”, to determine a final credible count.

This final, credible count was in accordance with said Order, to be determined from a four-stage process through Recount, Report, Review and Ratification. Guyanese were disappointed when the CARICOM team submitted a report after examining only 18% of the total ballot boxes and deemed the process “reasonably credible.” The question still remains, what is reasonably credible?

The Court of Appeal has already ruled, confirming what all right-thinking Guyanese knew all along, that votes must be valid to be counted. The PPP/C has since approached the CCJ under the pretext of jurisdiction to have non-valid votes counted. Since the matter is still under judicial consideration, I will comment no further in this regard, but rather await the ruling of the CCJ.

Having learnt of the premature statements attributed to our esteemed comrades; Chairman of CARICOM and PM of Barbados, the Hon. Mia Motley and Hon. Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines I am disappointed. The electoral process is not yet concluded and more so the subject to legal proceedings, so impartial arbiters should not by their utterances seek to prejudice the outcome.

I wish to remind that the recount initiative was proposed by H.E. President David Granger to provide a credible count that reflected the will of the people. This initiative must operate within the legal framework of the constitution and respect the role of GECOM and the rulings of the Supreme Court. H.E. President David Granger has maintained throughout the electoral process that he will abide by the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the decisions of the elections commission and the ruling of the Supreme Court.

I call on all foreign actors, now enamoured by the bright prospects of our dear Guyana, who consider only their interests, who silently observed the atrocities for 23 years prior to 2015 to resolve on this occasion to act impartially and let the electoral process conclude. I therefore call on all Guyanese to remain resilient and resolute as we await the final declaration from GECOM. Let us stand together as we seek to defend and protect our sovereignty.

Regards
Annette Ferguson