Guyana needs Dr Irfaan Ali now

Dear Editor,
Leaders of the APNU/AFC coalition, specifically David Granger, must concede defeat to respect the will of the Guyanese people! Surely, the AFC coalition leaders must understand that, by both local and international standards, they have lost these elections and their current actions are working against the best interest of the people of Guyana, their supporters, and their party.

If they continue to prevent a legitimate Government from taking office, they would have damaged their credibility to the extent that their future prospects of holding electoral office would be greatly diminished.
The situation in Guyana is disheartening, to say the least. After General and Regional Elections had occurred almost five months ago, Guyana is still without a legitimate Government at its helm, and has been more than a year without a Parliament. Much effort has been made during the deadly Covid-19 era to bring transparency, fairness and rule of democracy to the March 2,2020 elections and their aftermath; however, all these efforts have been to no avail, as some people in the political corridor of our country and outside simply refuse to abide by the findings and pathways outlined by institutions like Caricom for peaceful and fair resolution to the conflict that sprung up immediately.

There is no doubt that this situation in Guyana needs to come to an end immediately; prolonging such a situation will not augur well for the future of the people of Guyana. The restoration of normalcy and peace in Guyana should be an absolute priority now, and the rule of law as embodied in our Constitution must be allowed to run its course. Nothing should derail that precedence.

It is true that elections in Guyana have a long history that extends way beyond Guyana’s borders, even producing a BBC panorama documentary featuring investigative reports suggesting the “horses may have voted in a highly controversial poll back in the 1970s”.

In the year 2020, we have the dead voting from the grave. We have witnessed more than 18 months of chaos, ever since the December 2018 no-confidence vote in the National Assembly which brought down the Granger Administration. The no-confidence vote ushered in a period of political paralysis at a time that Guyanese leaders of all backgrounds could have come together to lay the foundation for a brighter, more prosperous future.

However, it was clear that the APNU/AFC never cared about people then. The pernicious actions of a few have wreaked considerable damage on Guyana’s image and reputation, and even if this debacle is soon and satisfactorily resolved, it will perhaps take a generation and significant institutional reform for that damage to be fully repaired.
Guyana needs Dr Irfaan Ali now as President, to put Guyana back on track. No court can undo “the people’s will, which was demonstrated in the National Recount results.

Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire ruled that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) endorsed the recount of votes, and that the ten old declarations from March 13 cannot be “resurrected”, as she threw out a case filed by another supporter of the incumbent A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change, (APNU/AFC).
Justice George ruled that the Recount results arising out of Order 60 are valid as already decided by the CCJ, while stating that the submissions by the applicant, Misenga Jones, are “hopelessly flawed.”

Jones wanted GECOM Chairperson Claudette Singh to be prohibited from using the results of the National Recount to declare a winner. The CJ said that Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield is not a “lone ranger” and has to come under the direction of GECOM and its Chair. She said that there can no longer be an impasse between the CEO and Chair. The CJ also said that the CEO is not a constitutional officer, that status resides with the GECOM Chair. Lowenfield has thrice defied the GECOM Chair’s instruction to deliver the Recount results to the Commission.

Despite losing, Roysdale Ford on Tuesday filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal, which would be another string of global embarrassment for their party and its dwindling support base, fighting to hold on to power at all cost.
The CCJ Justices were clear in their ruling on July 7, 2020, which stated that Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission, Keith Lowenfield, must produce his report as already directed by Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice Claudette Singh, based on the results of the validated Recount.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is seeking to make a declaration of the March 2 polls based on the certified Recount results, which show that the PPP/C won the elections with 233,336 votes.

The only democratic solution for Guyana at this time is respect for the results of the National Recount. This is fully in keeping with Guyana’s commitments under the Democratic Charter, “…there is no way to minimize how flagrant the actions of APNU/AFC leaders have been.”

A Partnership for National Unity – PNCR and their leaders – face a stark choice: Do they want to be a leader in the hemisphere and a democratic example? Or do they want to be an international pariah? Does The people of Guyana want to have a functioning Executive and Legislature so it can pass the laws it needs to encourage the development of our people? Or do we want to remain a country whose leaders cannot travel and are subject to sanctions? These are the choices facing our country today.

Sincerely,
David Adams