Dear Editor,

“THE United States is closely monitoring the tabulation of votes in Guyana ….we join the OAS Commonwealth, EU, CARICOM and other democratic partners who are calling for an accurate count. We commend CARICOM’s role in seeking a swift democratic resolution and it is important to note that the individuals who seek to benefit from electoral fraud and form illegitimate governments/regimes will be subject to a variety of serious consequences from the United States”. Those words were uttered by Mr. Mike Pompeo, speaking earlier in March 2020 at the State Department. It was another country’s intention to punish all those who directly and indirectly thwarted the democratic process in Guyana and, they did! What do you expect the concerned country to do? Sit and twiddle her fingers and say you guilty ones are forgiven? It was the caretaker President, David Granger himself, also earlier in March, after the election, had warned, “It is my sworn duty, as President, to uphold the Constitution and keep our citizens safe. I intend to do so. I will not allow political malefactors to hijack our democracy and compromise public order and human safety. Law and order will be maintained.” President Ali is only following a precedence committed by the past President and abiding with Granger’s intention to allow law and order to be maintained by bringing to justice all those who had participated in the obstruction of the smooth flow of the election process. Thank you Mr. Granger for your good advice and guidance for President Ali to adhere to and implement. The popular will of the people must never be compromised with fraudulent actions and behaviour nor by intimidation. The APNU+AFC Party denied democracy to Guyana when they refused to accept the consequences of the NCM since in December 2018. Granger’s appointment of Patterson as the GECOM Chairman was unconstitutional. Signing contracts and agreements during December 2018 and August 1, 2020 were not in concurrence with the “caretaker mode.” Attempting to steal an election and illegitimately gain power was a criminal act. Collusion and corruption by embezzlement is fraud. Encouraging and inciting violence is working against the law and disrespectful to human safety. Organising illegal gatherings and protesters is not abiding with COVID-19 regulations and keeping with the law. Who are the perpetrators of all that Granger had cautioned against? Only the APNU+AFC Party and Granger himself who are the delinquent ones, culpable and capable to be inglorious hypocrites of the highest order.

Again in March 2020, Granger had pleaded with all sides of the divide saying, “Guyanese are asked to contribute to ensuring that we maintain law and order at all costs. Guyana is a lawful state. We must allow the institutions which we revere and on which we rely to work to ensure that there will be a fair outcome to the issue which we now face.” Isn’t this good advice for Joe Harmon, the current “Hammy,” the seemingly tough bully who is a self-imposed “Leader of the Opposition” and proclaiming to want to carry the fight to the PPP/C Party in Parliament? He is a sub-standard tactician, a technician whose attrition for such a position will only encourage further partition, an arithmetician whose opinion for the election recount result would seriously question his role as an academician, his diabolical ambition is fruition for parliamentary prohibition and as such, Guyanese admonition for suspicion is in keeping with a tradition composing of an inhibition filled with apprehension. In the eyes of an educated youthful Guyanese generation who is consciously serious about being upright in moral dignity and as a law-abiding citizen, whose judgement is not derailed by blindness due to discrimination, who is educated to make correct judgmental decision and whose mind is scripturally influenced for guidance, would you seriously consider such an imposter to truly represent your interest and the country’s interest, acknowledging his unscrupulous past?

Let the games begin and another war break began with the filing of the election petition yesterday. The Belladrum protest is its existentialism. All the battles fought by the APNU+AFC Party were lost to the PPP/C Party. It is of paramount importance though that Guyanese pay heed to the teachings of Granger, a historian, whose fatherly message to this nation can carry a far reaching effect, especially to himself and his APNU+AFC Party followers. He said after the election, “Guyanese will continue to live with each other.  We must not allow ourselves to be provoked into taking any action which will engender hate or disharmony.” It was in the same vein that Dr. Irfaan Ali had accepted the presidency and had stressed that Guyanese are not separated by class, ethnicity, religion or political persuasion. Philosophising a prediction, President Ali had surmised, “There is only one future and that future requires a united Guyana, that future requires a strong Guyana, that future requires every Guyanese to play a part in building our country, ensuring that we leave a better Guyana for the next generation.” With the 12th sitting of Parliament today, all Guyanese eagerly await for Guyana to once again get rolling under the PPP/C Party mantle and for the opportunity for the materialisation of both presidents’ dreams. Guyanese need to move on with their lives and to exit their hibernation.

Respectfully,
Jai Lall