—Thandi McAllister warns Guyanese of opposition-aligned actors disguising themselves under new political banners

AS she denounced her former party’s calculated assault on Guyana’s democracy in 2020, former executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and attorney-at-law, Thandi McAllister, is urging voters to be cautious of political actors who are disguising themselves under new names but are still pushing the agenda of the PNCR/APNU.
With just a few weeks to go before Guyanese return to the polls, McAllister, last Friday during a public meeting at the Patentia Market Square, delivered a powerful message to residents of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

She called on them to stay the course with the PPP/C, reminding them of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and its undemocratic attempts in 2020.
The 2020 elections were marred by widespread allegations of fraud and a prolonged political standoff that lasted more than five months. The elections were called early after President David Granger’s government lost a no-confidence vote in December 2018, triggering heightened political tensions.

A Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2020 General and Regional Elections found that there was collusion and collaboration among senior Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) officials to divert votes in favour of the APNU+AFC—at the expense of electoral integrity.

Speaking directly to this, McAllister told the crowd, “I want you to remember that it is the PPP/C that fought for your democracy and restored it when the party [PNCR], from which I came, tried to deny you of your vote. I want you to remember that when you go to the polls on September 1, you must reject them in all of their iterations.”
She did not mince words, warning voters about the many political “faces” resurfacing ahead of the September 1 polls under the guise of new parties but rooted in the same anti-democratic foundation.

“Those are the people aligned with them, who tried to steal your democracy and you must reject them. I have rejected them,” she declared.
The CoI, chaired by Justice Stanley John, with Commissioners former Chancellor Carl Singh and Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, unearthed troubling findings, based on witness testimonies and reports from international observers.

“…our inquiry reveals that there were, in fact, shockingly brazen attempts by Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) Roxanne Myers, and Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo to derail and corrupt the statutorily prescribed procedure for the counting, ascertaining and tabulation of votes of the March 2nd election… and that they did so – to put it in unvarnished language of the ordinary man – for the purpose of stealing the election,” the commissioners stated.

The CoI concluded that senior GECOM officials, Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo, were central to attempts to subvert the electoral outcome. Mingo, in particular, allegedly manipulated tabulations in Region Four, significantly inflating the APNU+AFC’s vote count.

This led to weeks of unrest and a public outcry, as Guyanese watched their democratic process being hijacked.
The official recount, supervised by a high-level CARICOM team, later confirmed the PPP/C as the legitimate victor securing 233,336 votes to the APNU+AFC’s 217,920. These results starkly contrasted the fraudulent numbers initially presented by Lowenfield.

All three Fromer GECOM officials, Lowenfield, Myers, and Mingo along with others including APNU’s Carol Smith-Joseph, Volda Lawrence, and several GECOM staffers, are currently before the courts, facing 19 charges related to conspiracy and electoral fraud.

The CoI report further found that Lowenfield blatantly made decisions and employed procedures in direct contradiction to the law and the will of the people.
The findings revealed, too, that GECOM staffers ignored specific instructions from the court, used materials that were illegal and manipulated, and sided with APNU+AFC agents to berate observers whenever objections were raised.

After careful scrutiny, the commissioners concluded that there was a conscious, deliberate, and brazen effort to violate Section 84(1) of the Representation of the People Act (RoPA). In doing so, these senior officials abandoned all neutrality and impartiality, and clearly demonstrated bias toward the APNU+AFC, with open connections and collusive intent to produce a fraudulent result.
As such, the commissioners said that after consideration and analysis of the evidence, Lowenfield, Mingo and Myers “were principally responsible for clear and deliberate attempts to frustrate, obstruct and subvert the ascertainment of votes in electoral district No. 4.”

As the country heads back to the polls, McAllister sounded the alarm that Guyanese must not forget the threat posed to their democracy in 2020 and must reject those responsible, no matter how they rebrand.