Dear Editor,
SUDDENLY, the PNC is ‘rejecting’ the PPP’s Electoral Reform process, and, true to its nature, is crying foul. In a press statement released on 17th May, 2022, the party stated that the ‘nation’ has rejected the amendment to the Representation of the People’s Act and the public consultations on electoral reform. It claimed that ‘it fails to address key systemic and structural flaws and weaknesses in our electoral system’. The APNU contends that ‘it totally avoids any consideration of major constitutional, statutory, administrative, operational and technological reforms’.

The ruling PPP has aptly described the claims made by the APNU as ‘wild, unsubstantiated and duplicitous’.

What if the ‘Coalition’ had successfully rigged the 2020 Elections, would they have addressed the ‘flaws’ in the Electoral system?

The APNU is now calling for ‘a clean voters list’. Let me transport Mr. Norton back in time. In March 2015, the then Opposition leader David Granger claimed that the voters list was ‘dirty and bloated’, and urged his supporters to be vigilant on Polling Day. The then PPP’s General Secretary Mr. Clement Rohee had asked Mr Granger ‘to come clean on true intentions, and desist from making statements that could do harm to the integrity of the elections processes’. Mr. Rohee further challenged that, ‘rather than hiding under the fig leaf of broad statements and hasty generalisations, Granger ought to come clean and be specific as to exactly what his concerns are regarding the authenticity of the list’. But Granger was cunningly laying the foundation to create doubt, mischief, conflicts and controversies in the minds of his supporters, should they lose the 2015 Elections. He had vowed then that if the ‘Coalition’ was voted into Office on May 11th 2015, it will overhaul the voters list.

Unfortunately, by peddling lies and making fake promises, they won. The ‘Coalition’ went to office, but was this promise kept? The PPP is keeping its promise to embark on meaningful electoral reforms.

The APNU, in its Press Statement on 17th May, stated that, ‘Results must accurately reflect the will of those who voted, and every step of the election process must win the trust and confidence of the public, participating parties, and other relevant’. Having tried for five long months to rig the 2020 Elections and thwart the will of the People of Guyana, the PNC suddenly realised that election results must reflect the will of the voters.

What did the Returning Officer for Region Four do? He pulled numbers from a bag, and gave the ‘Coalition’ victory by 15,000 votes. How come the PNC’s General-Secretary’s signature appeared on the SoPs? Thankfully, they are before the Court, facing charges of electoral fraud. Such barefacedness! Imagine the ballot boxes had to be guarded against tampering and disappearing, which the PNC is competent enough to make happen.

The PNC wants the election process to ‘win the trust and confidence’ of all stakeholders, but what did they contribute towards achieving this goal? They illegally appointed the Chairman of GECOM, blatantly flouted the Constitution, ensured that GECOM was filled with their supporters to rig the process, made a mockery of the judicial system and our laws by making spurious claims, and embarked on a spending spree of taxpayers’ dollars, in an effort to remain illegally in office. One could recall the numerous months of litigation to prove whether or not 33 is the majority of 65. Fortunately, the legal system worked.

The electoral reforms seek to correct all the ambiguities and deficiencies which the ‘Coalition’ sought to undermine the results of an election which was free and fair, and consultations are underway. The Attorney-General’s statement reflects what the electoral reforms will address. He stated that, ‘Whatever weaknesses were in the law, they were exploited to their hilt. Wherever there was discretion, it was abused. Wherever there was latitude; interpretative latitude, it was vulgarised. Wherever there was an opportunity to bend the law to the repulsive end, it was exploited’.

Come on, Mr. Norton, are you afraid to face the polls? Let the public hear about the APNU’s ‘achievements’ when they were in office!

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf