-President Ali says; recalls efforts by unlawful forces to steal 2020 General and Regional elections
-Calls on Guyanese to stand united in casting out electoral malpractice

THE memory of the attempts to rip the fragile fabric of Guyana’s democracy is imprinted in the minds of many Guyanese and President, Dr Irfaan Ali has called on citizens to unite and build a system that will prevent electoral rigging from ever happening again.
During the celebration of Maha Shivarati on Friday at the Cove and John Ashram on the East Coast of Demerara, Dr Ali spoke extensively on why it is important to craft stronger systems in order to cast out evil.

President Ali said: “Many Guyanese from all walks of life fought to destroy and to get rid of rigged elections in 1992, when we got back to free and fair elections. But then we took it for granted,” adding that it took months before the current administration was given its rightful place.
He further stated: “We saw attempts to embody our country with such evil because that is what it is.”

Within this light, the Head-of-State said that the responsibility lies on the shoulders of all Guyanese to create and transform a system that would not allow electoral malpractice to ever happen again.
He then went on to say: “Let us purposefully commit to the unity of each other, to the upliftment of each other, to the embodiment of each other, to the removal of all the barriers of progress…”

President Ali also noted that the government is working assiduously to ensure that Guyanese can reap the benefits of the nation’s rapid development. And this is all being done under the ‘One Guyana’ umbrella.

He further stated: “To have the highest level of education, enabling them to be empowered with the gift of education and enabling them to be in school by supporting their attendance through different programmes, such as the Because We Care grants. These are all part of the spirituality of the government; these are all part of the humanness of the government that spirituality requires.”

JUSTICE MUST PREVAIL
Moreover, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has called on the magistracy to let justice prevail.
During a press conference at the party’s headquarters, he said: “The judiciary here, the magistracy is frustrating the will of the people. They are not allowing justice to be done, and they are undermining governance in this country.”

Dr Jagdeo went on to say: “I think you need a serious introspection by the judiciary itself because it’s a separate branch of government and whatever we say sometimes publicly, others may want to misrepresent as an attempt by the executive to encroach on the territory of the judiciary.”
While addressing the “serious matter” and the damning results of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the events of the 2020 General and Regional Elections, Dr Jagdeo said that there has been a “merry-go-round.”

The PPP General Secretary also firmly remarked that people are “tip-toeing” around the issue because they are worried about it. He said it is time the matter be addressed “legislatively” because maybe then the weight of public opinion can be brought.
With the steady delays, Dr Jagdeo said that this would “embolden” persons who attempt to execute electoral rigging.

“We’re not saying that we want the persons convicted or not, we are asking for you to proceed with the trial,” he said.
The much-anticipated trial surrounding allegations of electoral fraud faces yet another delay, this time with key issues in the case being referred to the High Court for ‘constitutional’ consideration.