Dear Editor,
It is now pellucid that the die is cast and there is no honesty and decency within the rank and file of the PNC. The PNC diehards will never respect our Constitution and rule of law and democracy will once again be massacred in this country, which since 1992 has shown an onward trajectory towards social and economic progress. Of course, until such progress was stifled and a downward spiral evidenced since 2015.
What is mind-boggling though is: How can the PNC commit such glaring acts of electoral fraud then deny every bit of evidence which is witnessed by the world at large? However, what is most sickening is the fact that I have seen on social media that the PNC supporters have the audacity to accuse the PPP/C of such electoral fraud! They even now quote out of context an excerpt from a statement issued by the Carter Center that the PPP/C supporters disrupted the electoral process of Region Four. That statement spoke about, “efforts by PPP/C representatives and others to disrupt the declaration of results”. This begs the question: Was the ‘declaration of results’ in keeping with a fair and credible electoral process? The world has witnessed that the Returning Officer and others attempted to use a spreadsheet to declare the results and not the verified SoPs as required by Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act. The Chief Justice has since ruled that such an action is illegal and that the SoPs should be used instead. The Carter Center is acutely aware of this and the statement issued should be read in its entirety without the usual cherry-picking in an attempt to distort.
The statement spoke of APNU/AFC supporters “impeding the work of the international observers…who have been harassed…and blocked international observers from doing their work”. The statement went on to state that, “specific threats have also been made against the international community that are unacceptable and further undermine the credibility of the electoral process”. These threats have led to the cordoning off the US, Canadian and British Embassies in Georgetown. In addition, when the Carter Center left, they said that the Region Four tabulation process lacked credibility. This was echoed by the Commonwealth, the European Union, the OAS, Caricom, the USA, Canada, Norway, France and the British not to mention a host of other local observers and organisations. These countries warned of dire consequences should Granger be sworn in based on fraudulent results.
However, to understand why the PNC does not want to concede defeat, one needs to go back to the elections of 1992. In the Report of the Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government submitted after the 1992 Elections, it stated that “for the first time in 28 years, all of the political parties of Guyana and the international observers agreed that the election was free and fair”. However, after the 1992 Elections, some people were visibly upset and there was a faction within the PNC that did not want a “free and fair election”. They accused Hoyte of being ‘soft’ but Hoyte had remained committed. Are we now seeing the same scenario being played out once again? There are reports circulating that Granger wants to do what is right but a certain faction within the PNC does not want that to happen. We have seen Dominic Gaskin making bold statements on social media, we have seen CN Sharma making public statements and most of all we have seen that Granger wanted a recount and then an injunction by an APNU candidate stopped that process. Therefore, some are adamant that from all appearances it would seem that Granger has succumbed to pressure from within his party. But since the unilateral and unconstitutional appointment of Justice Patterson as GECOM’s Chairman, we have seen Granger embarking on a dictatorial trend, flouting the Constitution, Court Orders, and making conflicting statements. I do believe that the same old corrupt PNC fraudsters are at work and Granger can do what is right if he wants to!
In the foreword of the Report, former President Jimmy Carter made a solemn promise to the people of Guyana. He concluded by stating that, “We, the members of the Council, consider ourselves privileged to have had a chance to help the people of Guyana find their path toward democracy, and we remain ready to be helpful as it moves down that path”. I am appealing to former President Carter to recall this promise to the Guyanese people and let democracy prevail once again in our beautiful country.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
