–President Ali affirms, says stakeholder engagement ongoing

PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to launching a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to examine what transpired during the five months following polling day on March 2, 2020. “In relation to the Commission of Inquiry, as you are aware … there are many moving parts in relation to what took place in the last elections. There are many court cases that are ongoing, deliberations at the level of the Guyana Elections Commission [GECOM] in relation to specific staff who are identified for various practises, not consistent with transparency and free and fair elections,” President Ali said during a virtual press briefing held on Monday to commemorate his government’s first anniversary in office.
Despite the ongoing deliberations, the Head of State said his government is “committed” to identifying the individuals who were involved in attempts to derail the process and pinpointing possible areas of weakness that can be used to guide the required strengthening of Guyana’s electoral system.

“[We are doing this] so that never again can we experience such a barefaced attempt at facilitating and attempting to steal an election,” Dr. Ali affirmed.
To this end, he said that there are ongoing engagements with various stakeholders to find suitable candidates to be part of the CoI.
Even as preliminary discussions continue, President Ali said that the government would welcome Local Government Elections, but the necessary budgetary provisions would have to made in order to facilitate this process.
At this point, he said it is up to GECOM to make preparations for those elections and to advise the government accordingly.
The President, however, pointed to the fact that GECOM is still dealing with a motion to remove individuals who were allegedly involved in attempts to derail the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

“So, be assured we are ready. We are supportive of Local Government Elections with a transparent election machinery, with professionals in place to conduct those elections so that we don’t experience what we did just a year ago,” the Head of State related.
President Ali, during a recent address to the nation, had reminded Guyanese that on August 2, 2020, with the support of the regional and international communities, the people of Guyana celebrated the recovery of their democratic rights.
“It was an historic moment in our nation’s life. We, the people, decided that the history of rigged and stolen elections, which we suffered in the past, would not be tolerated then or at any time in the future. We established, with resolve, that Guyana and the Guyanese people are committed to democracy and democratic principles, including respect for the decision of the majority,” the Head of State said. (DPI)