HERE is what Jesuit priest, Andrew Morrison wrote in his book, “Justice: The struggle for democracy in Guyana, 1952-1992” about the 1992 election: “The time when the election came close to be scrapped was on election day itself (October 5, 1992). From early morning a crowd, mainly PNC supporters gathered outside the election centre in Croal Street claiming to be registered voters whose names had been omitted from the lists at the polling stations. It became evident that the PNC’s protest was orchestrated. Known PNC activists including two ministers, kept coming in mini-buses and cars brining persons who claimed to have been disenfranchised. Many of these appeared to be under the voting age of 18. By 2 in the afternoon, there was about 1,500 outside the centre shouting slogans and chanting.”

I was outside the centre the entire day and one of the memories I have was as the crowds start to brick down the centre, I saw a German television crew facing the crowds filming them as they violently assaulted the building. All I can think of was the fear of the injury the cameraman would suffer. But miraculously no brick was directed at him.

The attempt to abort 1992 election is well captured in Father Morrison’s book (undoubtedly one of the best books ever written on Guyana) and I witnessed for myself how the first free and fair election since 1968 was almost lost through the machinations of the leadership of the then ruling PNC, including the barefaced instigations of the violent PNC supporters by a PNC minister who now refers to himself as an elder in the Guyanese society.
We had arrived at the moment of October 5, 1992 through the blood, sweat and tears of untold number of Guyanese including many who died in the struggle against authoritarian rule. I think I am intellectually equipped to understand the human psyche collapse but I am

getting on in advanced age and will go to my grave without the comprehension of why people I struggled with from 1968 onwards for free and fair elections could have supported the colossal conspiracy to deny Guyanese the right to vote in 2020.
How do you explain that psychic collapse? When I think of the phenomenal participation of these folks in finally taking us to October 5, 1992, how could they have become what they became from March 2020 to July 2020? On March 2, 2020, I cast my ballot for the predominantly Amerindian Party led by Lenox Shuman. Then I saw brazen attempts to take us back to 1985 when the most degenerate election in Guyana took place.

I was in the Kaieteur Radio station with Leonard Gildarie reporting on the election. What I saw lacerated my psyche. I was not taking me and my family down the roads of permanent power again. I had to join the democratic chorus.
I lived through the era of permanent power and I saw the evil that was personified in Forbes Burnham and I was not going to let it happen once more without my participation. The PPP is not Guyana. The PNC is not Guyana. Guyana is bigger than both. Whether we like a party or hate a party, we must never equate them with the nation-state of Guyana. On March 3, 2020, when the rigging began, it was a sacred duty to save Guyana -those who chose not to, should not be forgiven.
On today’s date, July 30 in 2020, October 5, 1992 came alive once more. On this day, July 30 in 2020, Guyana was once again saved from permanent power.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) ruled on this very day in 2020 that the writ of Misenga Jones to have the declaration of the Chief Election Officer be declared the official results of the 2020 election and not the CARICOM-supervised recount was rejected because the Caribbean Court of Justice, Guyana’s apex court, had already decided on the recount as the basis of the election results.

The court comprised Justices Dawn Gregory Barnes, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and Rishi Persaud. This was the end of the long road of deceit, deception, denial and disaster. On this day in 2020, Guyana regained the right to vote freely in national elections.
Something strange happened on this day in the CoA. After the decision, Attorney Roysdale Forde asked the court for a stay. Justices Beharry and Persaud denied it. Justice Barnes agreed and said that Justice Beharry has agreed too.
Justice Beharry in open court said that was not her position (source- “Democracy Prevails: The Chronicle of the Guyana 2020 elections”). This decision remains the only decision of the CoA in favour of the State since the no-confidence vote in 2018. The State has lost all CoA appeals since then.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.