THE Presidential Commission of Enquiry into the events of the 2020 General and Regional Elections has wrapped up its public hearings and in the words of Senior Counsel, Sophia Chore of Trinidad and Tobago, there is “no political agenda” as far as the work of the Commission is concerned.

All the political parties and other interested individuals and groups were summoned to give evidence before the Commission, including officials of the Guyana Elections Commission. It was a tense and at times gruelling moment as the Commission sought to elicit information that would be useful in arriving at a fair and objective conclusion on what actually transpired during that historic 2020 elections.

It was at times painful to watch the proceedings as key opposition players in the elections imbroglio sheepishly sought to hide behind the fig-leaf of ‘the right to remain silent’ when asked by the Commission to give evidence. One would have thought that the opposition would have seized every available opportunity to ventilate their actions to expose the alleged fraud and irregularities that took place during the election process.

That, however, did not happen. And while the right to remain silent is permitted in law, the frequency with which operatives from the political opposition sought shelter was both pathetic and deafening.

The APNU+AFC coalition cannot escape responsibility for putting the country through yet another shameful episode of attempted rigged elections. Anyone who felt that the PNC has left its dark electoral past behind were given a rude awakening during the 2020 General and Regional elections when the APNU+AFC, in collaboration with rogue elements of GECOM, sought to rig the elections in what was described by one overseas observer ‘as the most transparent attempt to rig an election’.

The important thing, however, is to go after the truth and even though the public hearings may have concluded, there are also several pieces of secondary evidence available to the Commission, including the reports of local and overseas observer groups. These are substantial pieces of evidence which cannot be overlooked.

The decision by President Irfaan Ali to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate what transpired during the tabulation and declaration of the 2020 General and Regional elections is both positive and forward-looking which, hopefully, will bring some closure to the false narrative by the APNU+AFC coalition that it was ‘cheated’ out of power in the 2020 elections. This narrative continues to be peddled by senior operatives of the coalition including PNC leader Aubrey Norton.

Nothing can be further from the truth, and as pointed out by Senior Counsel Chote, the results of the elections were already known to the major political parties immediately upon the close of polls based on the Statements of Poll (SOPs) given to them by the Commission. In her submission, she said that there was so much compassion, and physical capacity for transparency at the command centre but “the actions of those who wanted to pervert the court of law, turning GECOM into a dark and opaque place…could have led to serious consequences for the country.”

According to the Terms of Reference, the Commissioners will make recommendations as deemed fit and necessary to permit GECOM to discharge its statutory functions as prescribed by the Representation of the People Act. This report cannot come sooner, as the country prepares for the holding of local government elections in a matter of a few months.

And even though no specific date was given, the Commission is expected to present its report, findings and recommendations to the President within seven months.

The whole of Guyana is awaiting the findings which may not come as a surprise to the majority of Guyanese who saw first-hand what transpired. The report could, however, be useful from the standpoint of national healing and reconciliation along the One Guyana vision as envisaged by President Ali.