–President Ali urges GDF, as Guyana prepares for general, regional elections

WITH preparations now in full swing for the general and regional polls later this year, the country’s military has been urged to remain vigilant against attempts to disrupt order or anything that is contrary to the rule of law.
During his address at the opening of the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) Annual Officers’ Conference at Camp Ayanganna, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr. Irfaan Ali reminded attendees that it is the GDF’s constitutional duty to support civilian law enforcement in maintaining peace and order during the democratic process.

Dr Ali said: “Elections are a fundamental pillar of our democracy, and we must ensure that the process unfolds [in an] environment free from intimidation, violence or destruction.”
Although there is no anticipation of unrest, the President noted that the military must be vigilant against any attempt to unsettle internal order.
She said: “The Defence Force will be on standby, prepared to act, if necessary, to uphold stability and protect the democratic process.”

He said, however, that this charge to the men and women in uniform is not a call for them to take a “partisan stand,” but to fulfil their constitutional duty.
“We are asking for the members of the Joint Services to take a professional and national stand. Every member of the force has a right to vote according to the dictates of their conscience, and as long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, the right will be respected,” Dr Ali said.
He stressed that professionalism of the military must and will be always upheld.

“Our duty is to the nation, to its security and the preservation of law and order, not to any political interest.

“Guyana’s democracy depends on free, fair and peaceful elections, and we will ensure that no force internal or external disrupt the will of the people,” President Ali said.
After Guyanese had cast their ballots at the March 2, 2020 polls, the country stood still for five agonising months as a recount was initiated following discrepancies in the counting of ballots.
Evidence surfaced indicating that then senior GECOM officials had manipulated figures to inflate support for the APNU+AFC while downplaying numbers for the PPP, attempting to secure a win for the coalition.
Following significant objections from local, regional, and international observers—including members of the diplomatic community and CARICOM—and a national recount that confirmed a PPP victory, the coalition retracted its victory claims and initiated efforts to undermine the election results.
The initial results, announced by Lowenfield, claimed an APNU+AFC victory, but a recount led by GECOM and a high-level Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegation revealed a win for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
The recount confirmed that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes against the APNU+AFC coalition’s 217,920.
Following the PPP/C’s return to office in August 2020, criminal charges were filed against key election officials.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) made the decision in August 21 to terminate the contracts of those charged, after the allegations of fraud came to light, a move that was welcomed by many.
As Guyana heads to another round of elections, GECOM reiterated its commitment to ensuring the electoral process is safeguarded and its integrity upheld, with a focus on maintaining a free, fair, transparent, and credible system that earns the confidence of the public.
“GECOM takes this opportunity to categorically state that it will ensure the safeguards and integrity of its processes in the conduct of elections that will guarantee public confidence in a system that is free, fair, transparent and credible,” the commission said.