Dr. Mangal says… Granger’s inaction to remedy attempts to rig the 2020 elections is troubling

When he first started to critique the coalition administration, Petroleum Consultant and former Presidential Advisor, Dr. Jan Mangal, was often in high praise of the Head of State, David A. Granger. But since the elections took place on March 2 along with ensuing events, Dr. Mangal seems convinced that Granger has shown Guyanese a new side of him that has perhaps poisoned initial perceptions that he was a man who stood for transparency and accountability.

In an invited comment, Dr. Mangal said he always recognised the positive steps taken by Granger with respect to some oil and gas issues such as the release of the oil contracts and stopping the wastage of US$500 million of taxpayers’ money on an ill conceived project in Berbice, etc. Dr. Mangal said that he still sees these as positives and felt Granger and this government had a unique opportunity to transform Guyana.

The international consultant said, however, that the actions of the government in the weeks after the election have shown him a different side of the President. Dr. Mangal was keen to note that the President is responsible for his government and the well-being of the nation. He said, “…So with this responsibility, why has the President not stepped in to stop the rigging of the election in the first week, or even the second week? I say rigging because I see the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) anomalous tabulation of the Region Four votes as rigging. And I do not seem to be alone.”

In this regard, he recalled that several independent parties and international observers from the Carter Center, CARICOM, and the Organization of American States, as well Ambassadors and High Commissioners from the US, UK and Canada, were disgusted by the blatant deviations of GECOM with respect to tabulating the Region Four votes.

Dr. Mangal said that indeed, the rigging of elections can make countries explode and burn, and it usually retards their growth for decades. The international consultant, moreover, questioned, “Why has President Granger not stepped in to bring Guyana back from the brink of disaster?” Further to this, the former Presidential Advisor stressed that this is not about legal games, constitutional hide and seek, and/or whether one can follow a rabbit hole to steal time, such as what took place with the legal challenges that followed the No-Confidence Motion.

Dr. Mangal said, “No, the very country and its international standing are at stake. We can say good-bye to any benefits from oil if our elections are rigged. So why has President Granger not stepped in to resume the count of Region Four in line with the process successfully followed for all the other regions, and in agreement with the observers and independent parties?”

The international consultant said too he has answered this question for himself; hence, his view about President Granger has changed. He was also keen to stress that his view of the opposition PPP has not changed. Dr. Mangal had previously raised reservations about the PPP and their likely performance managing, or mismanaging, Guyana’s new oil industry, based on their past performance when in government.