GECOM has failed Guyana

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), for too long, has been the main cancer undermining and constantly eating away at the foundations of Guyana’s greatness. The recent farcical and unbelievable display of Returning Officer (RO) Clairmont Mingo and other implanted PNC agents at the tallying of the Region Four Statements of Poll, affirm the ruthless malignant nature of a disease that is likely to further the sufferance of Guyana for decades to come.

Guyanese citizens are in limbo with our nation watched by the whole world, who have taken note of the consistent continuous dillydallying of GECOM, together with Mr Granger’s delaying and dodging tactics. Although the GECOM voting process of the National and Regional Elections were largely conducted peacefully and transparently, what followed because of the RO’s outright defiance of the courts in the tallying process in Region Four (the most populated region), certainly makes a mockery of transparency, decency, and democracy, albeit expending over seven billion ($7 billion) taxpayers dollars.

It is now public that after many attempts and the most dubious of processes witnessed by local and international observers, RO Clairmont Mingo announced during the night of Friday, March 13, 2020, that the APNU/AFC had won the elections. The PNC and Granger cabal along with the incompetent and corrupt demons in the GECOM staff held the nation at ransom. Region Four, particularly Georgetown, the seat of power closest to the GECOM Centre could not transparently complete the simple verification/tabulation of the votes.

What has taken place in the presence of the entire world is not rigging but outright blatant thieving of an entire election. Clairmont Mingo, the Returning Officer of Region Four, after feigning sickness to give his facilitators enough time to prepare a false spreadsheet with inflated votes in favour of the APNU/AFC, has shamelessly allowed the staff at GECOM to falsify the true positions on the Statements of Poll.

In many instances, wicked doctoring of numbers accepted by the RO in the tally represented on the spreadsheet conflicted with the Statements of Poll certified by the Presiding Officers and party agents at the polling places. It shockingly showed in many instances that APNU/AFC scored more votes than the number of persons on the respective voters’ lists.
Of note is that Mr Mingo refused to address the doctored conflicts when queries were raised by party representatives and international observers. The only remedial position to this end is an actual recount of all of the votes in each box that is swiftly running against time, given the outlandish stalling processes adopted under clearly issued directions by GECOM representatives.

I have evidence that the PPP/C and other contesting parties of these elections served the relevant notice on the RO, calling for a total recount of all of the votes in Region Four. Given the commitments made to the courts by the RO and the GECOM Chairman, the public expects that the most expedient approach is undertaken in keeping with the laws to ensure these counts would be swiftly undertaken. Failure in this respect runs Guyana at the risk of absolute international exclusion from which we may never recover in our lifetimes.

If sworn in under these conditions, the national or international communities will never recognize Mr Granger as legitimate and our dear country and citizens will continue to be the target of exclusion. Consequently, I call on all citizens to stand up and reject the ensuing tyranny that has emerged before our very eyes. We must rally strongly and peacefully for GECOM to conduct the proper processes, as the counts of citizens’ votes are undertaken. Guyana deserves more and better!

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar