End of the rope

Dear Editor,
‘When you are at the end of your rope tie a knot and hold on’. (Theodore Roosevelt (1882-1945) 32nd US President). These words of the longest serving president epitomize the current mindset of the Coalition gov’t as it goes about erecting judicial roadblocks on the journey towards the legitimate loss of the Presidency.

After Chief Justice Roxanne George’s clear and articulate ruling of the APNU’s case being hopelessly flawed the country can expect yet another appeal by the plaintiff. Meanwhile, the infuriating ramblings of President Granger, coupled with the cesspool outbursts of his ministers and GECOM commissioners are as lethal to the mind as Covid virus is to the lungs. After five different declarations of the election result the conclusion is quite clear: GECOM is a circus, with Mr Lowenfield the chief acrobat; meanwhile Mr Granger performs the role of the clown. The no-show of the three commissioners and the CEO is the interlude before the comic show resumes.

After the press release of today (July 22, 2020) it is evident that the current caretaker regime will not relinquish office. In a thinly veiled, yet potently lethal, pronouncement, Congress Place has never made its intentions clearer: The APNU+AFC Coalition is resolved to ensure that fraudulent votes cannot be factored in to represent the will of the electorate…we maintain that the Elections Commission can only make a ‘Declaration’ based on valid votes. Make no mistake, the Coalition is banking on a witches’ brew to invalidate votes and it has all the necessary ingredients in its 3 commissioners and the CEO.

However, his power grab reeks of a well-conceived plan. Beginning with the No-Confidence motion in 2018, the injection of the 85 year old Patterson to head GECOM, new house to house registration and now through a series of unsuccessful litigation a bunch of misfits have steered Guyana into the doldrums of depravity and backwardness. But we can go further back to the days of the tyrant Forbes Burnham. In 1974 in what became known as ‘The Declaration of Sophia’ the PNC Party usurped the role of government and declared itself superior to the gov’t where all state institutions became answerable to his Party. Are we witnessing a déjà vu in GECOM? Two PNC stalwarts, Vincent Alexander and caretaker President Granger, were party to this diabolical show.

The current manipulation has been condemned by the international community who are unanimous in their call for the declaration to be made utilizing the recount figures. There has been serious defiance from the obviously compromised CEO of GECOM who submitted five conflicting reports to the Commission despite direct instructions of what was required. His display of insubordination warrants dismissal and his continued falsification of the elections report warrants serious penalties for attempting to pervert the elections process and committing elections fraud. As pointed out by the Chief Justice Lowenfield is an employee of GECOM while, during the hearings GECOM’s attorney Kim Kyte Thomas indicated that the CEO cannot conjure figures at his whims. His continued employment is subject to his contract and the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act. That Act provides for dismissal without notice where there is serious misconduct. It is hard to think of anything more serious than Lowenfield’s persistent attempt to subvert the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. Moreover, Mr. Lowenfield ‘revised’ and discounted from his prior 260,000 invalid votes to the new figure of 115,000 — in the space of one week!

Back to the Press Release. The recount process which was conducted painstakingly for33 day’s revealed massive irregularities and extensive fraud….that betrays the will of the electorate. Here again the implications are quite clear: The caretaker gov’t is tossing its own recount to the incinerator. But it is yet unclear how the fraud and irregularities was perpetrated as evidence of such is sketchy and unclear. Bottom line: The APNU will remain in power regardless of any declaration of the election results!

The country’s second power broker Joe Harmon declares, in usual slimy manner, that Guyana is no longer a plantation. Well he is in order but fails to mention that Massa days have not changed — only the color of Massa has changed.
Finally, name changes do not produce character changes. From PNC to PNC/REFORM to APNU the only reform has been the methods of rigging.

Sincerely,
Leyland Chitlall
Roopnaraine