How could the ERC in its current posture spearhead a national conversation?

Dear Editor,
I CRAVE your indulgence on the matter of the Ethnic Relations Commission and its ingenuine efforts to appear to be constructive and contributing positively to national outcomes such as National Reconciliation. In my own view, Reverend John Smith and his fellow commissioners seem to be engaged in apparent attempts to beat a path of confrontation with the executive of our great nation, the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. I also refer to the recent comments by His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali on the posture of the ERC on many issues of national interest. I commend President Ali for ‘calling a spade a spade.’

The participation of certain individuals in a national conversation, fresh on the heels of attempts by those very persons to rig an election is nothing short of comical, but yet a worrying development. It seems that the ERC, even as a constitutional commission, seems to hold the view that it is an island by itself and can do as it pleases with whomever it pleases. The commission’s positions beg the question of whether those who preside over its decision-making are truly interested in the whole notion of racial harmony, reconciliation or simply put, the concept of “country first.”

While I do not hold to the view that an acrimonious relationship between the commission and the executive should exist, the commission is essentially by its actions, adding fuel to that proverbial fire. Any objective thinker would have questioned the refusal of the commission as a whole to unambiguously rebuke those who attempted to thwart the will of the people following the March 2, 2020 polls. Instead, the nation was treated to a few generalised and unspecific sputters.

The fact that the commission assumed a spectator’s posture in many instances speaks volumes of the mindset and seemingly, the political preference by many members of the ERC. It is also safe to say, in my view, that as the APNU+AFC Coalition attempted to unleash its diabolical plan on Guyana to retain executive power, cause it what it may, the ERC’s ‘consensual’ silence was more than what it seemed. The ethnic make-up of the Guyana Elections Commission, in my view, ought to have been enough for the commission to raise red flags and sound alarms long before the holding of elections 2020. The thought of consensual silence is opposed by many, but broad-based silence is more than instructive of a particular mindset. President Ali’s recent lamentation over the failure of the commission to stand up in the face of wrongdoing is well founded and justified.

There are those who argue that such a transgression is insufficient. Then one wonders what is the motive of a national conversation that excludes inputs from the executive. The non-invitation of the Dr. Irfaan Ali administration in the planning and/or input before hand in no way, shape or form is also indicative of the need for the re-examination of the commission and whether it has operated or is fulfilling its mandate with the inclusion of all stakeholders, moreso, the main stakeholder.

Worse yet, the ERC in its wisdom and as President Ali describes it, popped up with names of its own volition, some of whom have been identified as individuals at the forefront of attempts to derail Guyana’s democracy and subvert the will of the people. How could they possibly spearhead a national conversation? This certainly wasn’t a workshop on how to rig an election.

Yours Respectfully,
Erin Northe