Dear Editor,

THE country must forever be grateful to the small number of ballot watchmen and the ABC diplomats for protecting the integrity of the ballots that allowed for the survival of democracy and declaration of the PPP as the winner. A small number of others also played critical roles behind the scenes to get the ABCE countries and CARICOM leaders to apply pressure on the Granger administration to concede defeat, and for GECOM to do the right thing: Declare the right winner.
While several individuals are enjoying ministerial perks and government positions, they must never forget that they owe their position to the ballot-box heroes who kept watch 24 hours daily over five months to prevent ballot tampering, and the others noted above. And there were also several females who provided support, and brought meals for the heroes; there were heroines behind the scenes.

While it was agreed that a recount of the ballots would be undertaken, a plan was hatched to have agents clandestinely enter into the containers storing the ballot boxes and tamper with them, which would have changed the result and/or raised questions about the integrity of the outcome. It would show greater number of ballots for APNU+AFC than the PPP.
It was a cinch to get into the container, as we’ve since learnt from the Belgium drug experience with a seized container; the Guyanese container in Brussels laden with US$1B drugs clearly illustrated that a sealed container can be tampered with. After the container was cleared by Guyana’s customs and sealed, drug kingpins tampered with the container, undetected, and drugs were placed inside. Analogously, agents had been rounded up and organised to use their expertise to enter into the ballot containers and tamper with the boxes with duplicate ballots. The entire operation was in place. Experts were on standby to take the doors off the containers with the locks and seals in place, change the contents, and refit the doors.
But the ballots watchmen made this skullduggery plan very difficult; this group of patriots stayed within close distance of the containers from just outside GECOM compound, and at the CARICOM compound, monitoring the containers with their physical presence and with cameras. They did so around-the-clock; they were the ballot-box heroes that saved the election outcome. The group took turn watching and sleeping in shifts over a 24-hour period for several months, come rain or shine. Had they not kept watch over the containers for 24 hours daily, during the determined efforts to rig the election, the rigging would have been affected; the PPP would not have been declared the winner. Not all of those heroes were recognised or rewarded for their work.

The diplomats of the ABCE countries and Prime Ministers of CARICOM were also heroes; they saved the country from the rigging by refusing to accept the fraudulent count of the shameless Mingo, Myers, and Lowenfield. The diplomats were responsible for the correct declaration of the PPP as the winner.

Yours truly,
Haresh Singh Kumar