LEADER of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Attorney Nigel Hughes, at his party’s press conference, said to the media that he was “not in the business of examining SOPs” at the time when the APNU+AFC was trying to rig Guyana’s 2020 elections.

He then said he would “not answer” another question that was asked of him, because of confidentiality and his professional obligations to his clients.
Hughes further said he was not sure “what” the Alliance For Change should apologise “for” exactly, to the Guyanese public when asked about its role in trying to rig the 2020 elections.
The AFC leader said, “I would ask you to identify to me specifically what it is you are saying that the AFC did in the elections for which you are seeking an apology.”
Not apologising despite attempts to clarify the issue by the media operative quizzing him, Hughes successfully avoided giving a definitive answer with explanations.

Also, Khemraj Ramjattan offered no apology either for his role in the rigging attempts at the 2020 elections. He tried hard to justify his deportation of Russians at the time who he had publicly claimed were attempting to influence Guyana’s elections in the favour of the then-opposition PPP/C.

It seems no AFC member, past or present, has apologised or will apologise for the explicit attempts made to rig the 2020 polls and subvert Guyana’s democracy. They prefer silence.
Firstly, anyone with a modicum of sense would know that laugh or look of guilt that Hughes had on his face before he carefully crafted his response which only sought to make things complex for the reporter. It seems Hughes had no intention of answering the question from the get-go. He offered an answer which was not really an answer. And, Hughes said a lot but didn’t say anything.

It is unfortunate that Hughes wasn’t in the business of examining Statements of Poll (SOPs). He should make it his business, since he is running on the AFC’s ticket for president. The public is stunned that he did not make it his business to see the infamous SOPs which Norton has seen because it allegedly proves that they won the 2020 polls.

It is alarming yet telling that a ‘big shot’ ExxonMobil attorney could not say if he has seen the SOPs since he became his party leader. Maybe, he should ask the former party chairman, and the former prime minister if they had seen the SOPs.

Secondly, it is disappointing that Hughes could not bring himself to apologise to the Guyanese public for his party’s role in trying to rig the elections.

If he was serious about his party’s future on the Guyanese political scene, and confident about the AFC’s chances at winning the election in 2025, he would have offered an outright and unconditional apology.
If Hughes was a genuine, upright, and different politician who was concerned about truth, facts, healing, and reconciliation, he would have offered an apology that served as a blanket for all the wrongs, misjudgments, and mistakes that the AFC officials made at the time of election 2020, and the long five-month period that ensued.

Instead, Hughes wanted specifics from the media operative who gave him just that, but he still did not apologise. He, apparently, was ‘puzzled’ or wanted to know what he was apologising for as AFC leader.
This is reasonable, one would argue, but not if Hughes was instrumental in the process as an attorney and politician. In fact, Hughes was in all of the mess that led to the APNU+AFC challenging the 2018 no-confidence motion that led to the election. Recall, his infamous declaration that to properly pass the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, an absolute majority of 34 votes was needed, and not a simple majority of 33 votes. His math wasn’t ‘mathsing’ for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) though, which held out the Constitution of Guyana states that all that was necessary is a simple majority of 33.

As for the AFC, it must apologise because it was part of the coalition that attempted to rig the elections. It must apologise because it knew what was being planned before it was executed.

Ramjattan, Moses Nagamootoo, Catherine Hughes, David Patterson, Dr. Vincent Adams, Sherod Duncan, Valerie Lowe, Beverly Alert, and a ton of other seniors were a part of the coalition, and APNU+AFC Government. They have not come to the public and distanced themselves from the efforts or attempts made to rig the 2020 polls, either while it was happening or now.

Let Hughes say to the public otherwise; let him say that the AFC was not present or involved. Let him try and explain away their silence then and now. Let him say that there were no attempts made to rig the 2020 elections when there was a COI, international observers and countries that said the opposite.

Let Hughes not concern himself with the specifics, but the complicity and collusion that took place from his party office in Kitty, Congress Place, in Sophia and other locations to try and steal democracy away from the clutches of the public. Let him say whether he was against the barefaced attempt to rig the elections then, and what is his position on the rigging.

Hughes is a great attorney but not a skillful orator or politician. He may be good at the art of deception, but not good at playing the game of politics.
The truth is, as much as the AFC leader and politicians try to act like they have integrity and are real champions of democracy, the public knows otherwise. They did not try to stop or distance themselves from the naked attempt to steal the 2020 polls. Had the PNC/R-styled APNU been successful, the AFC would have been in power and thriving now. They had a choice to do something, say something, and alert someone of all the plans, but they did not.

So, when the PNCR-led APNU is facing the ire of citizens, the AFC must also be hauled over the coals. They must be criticised, too. They can never be Pontius Pilate; their hands are not clean.

The AFC seems more preoccupied with the politics of ‘pit-latrines’ as opposed to politics in general. The AFC wants to pay close attention in 2024 and beyond to ballot boxes and the safety of our elections, but still refuses to admit that it rigged the elections in the past, or was complicit in attempting to rig them.

What this shows is political cowardice and immaturity. If the AFC is still not willing to let the public in on the clandestine and closed-door sessions that it undoubtedly was a part of during the years of APNU+AFC Government and coalition, then it has not learnt how to be a mature political party that people can trust.

After 19 years, the AFC will go down in history as spineless. Judging from the politics of Hughes and his stance on his conflict-of-interest issue, the public is facing a dilemma.

Better will only come when Hughes leads his party into the light. Self-truth and integrity lead to political clemency. That is to say, forgiveness is available, but the AFC will only access it through admittance and an unconditional apology.

The AFC’s silence is deafening but it is golden. Alas, better must come. Better leaders will come and a change will emerge.

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.