Dear Editor,
NEWS that the three PNC commissioners in GECOM did not show up to certify the election results after the recount of votes in Regions Four and Five is a symptom that Guyana’s politics continues to be a poisoned chalice. The PNC commissioners still don’t get that it is because of such gridlock politics that national unity and political maturity elude us and contributed to the PNC’s failure in the 2025 election.

Not showing up for the meeting was meant to prevent the swearin- in of President Ali for a second term. Now GECOM has to go to Plan B to get the swearing-in done. The 2025 elections have been the fairest elections ever conducted. For the first time, the SOPs were posted quite quickly on GECOM’s website for all to see, before the official declaration was made. The PNC knows it lost badly; the votes were not close, yet they called for recounts. All the observer groups praised the fairness in the conduct of the very peaceful elections. Does the PNC think the observers will view them kindly for having to stay here longer for frivolous reasons? Contrast that with Jamaica, where elections were called and held in three weeks; with a larger electorate, the result was available by midnight and the Prime Minister was sworn in the next day. Why are the Guyana elections always filled with high drama when it’s the PNC openly rigging or the PNC losing?

Contrast Guyana with Suriname, where we saw pictures of outgoing President Santokhi, who barely lost the election, putting on the sash on the new President Dr. Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, in the sashing ceremony. In Suriname, also, they were able to put together a post-election coalition to defeat former President Santokhi. Those things will never happen in Guyana! Guyana’s politics is nasty, lacking in decorum, and based on the mentality of “expose, oppose, and depose.” Very little ethics and politeness. In Guyana, our opposition leader refuses to shake the hand of the president and punishes one of his Members of Parliament for doing so. In Guyana, parties do not usually attend the presidential inauguration ceremony of the other. They do not even attend the flag-raising ceremonies at independence and republic anniversaries when the other is in power. The PNC had refused to sign the Elections Code of Conduct. If they cannot show political maturity in these little things, how can we get them to work together on big things such as power sharing, the reduction of poverty, and renegotiation of the oil contract?

The cumulative actions of the PNC have led to a great fall, a lethal fall from which it may never recover, as its ongoing disgraceful actions make it look foolish. We cannot have PNC commissioners on GECOM refusing to attend the meeting to approve the results and delaying the inauguration of the President. Going forward, we must address this quickly and the constitutional commission must awake from its deep slumber and get to work right away. As the election results show – low voter turnout and apathy, the rise of a party with no experience, credentials or talents upsetting the two-party system and capturing a substantial number of seats in its first try — is a time for deep reflection by the parties. The people want change. The people want gridlock politics to end. The people want the parties to work together in the national interest, so we may have the good life now. The PNC is not getting it and now for the first time in history, will not be the main opposition party anymore, and for the first time in history, they have lost Regions Four and 10, considered their “strongholds.” Mr Norton, more of the same will not cut it. Please listen to Minister Jordan and step down. The other sane voices in the PNC must speak out now!

Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
Civil Society Advocate