In Granger’s grand game, he may have miscalculated the finale

Dear Editor,
I have two letters to the press which I did not send for publication because I believed that David Granger was beginning to show honesty, integrity, courage, and respect for the voice of the people expressed on March 2, 2020. Once again, I was fooled. I cannot allow myself to be fooled again — not by David Granger.

David Granger knows how to play with words – and with democracy. He took a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution, and he openly violates it — more times than all his predecessor presidents combined. He knows he has lost the Presidency, but clings to power. Despite no official or credible outcome, Granger misled his audience and supporters on March 5, 2020 that he would be their good life President’ for the next five years.

He knows the reason for the delayed declaration of Region 4 is so that his people in GECOM would know how many votes were necessary to rig the elections. He responded with his imperious diffidence. He is fully aware that the Returning Officer fraudulently and unlawfully declared bogus results for Region 4. Despite this, he posted his unverified victory on Facebook.

And he knows exactly what he means when he says that GECOM are independent and he cannot tell them what to do. He does not need to, he made sure he appointed people who would appoint others to rig the count and the elections for him.

This kind of duplicity is reminiscent of his presentation at the 5th Biennial Conference of the PNCR’s North American Region held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in November 2017. He told them he never rigged elections. Indeed, he did not, but he was very much part of the Army that helped to stuff ballot boxes at Camp Ayanganna.

His duplicity was further exposed in the aftermath of the 2018 No Confidence Motion. He falsely claimed he would respect it, and then used the resources of the State to prolong the life of an otherwise expired Government.
He told the same Atlanta audience that he was not aware that “rigged elections were an ideal of Forbes Burnham”, his mentor and idol. No, it was not Burnham’s ideal; it was his way of life.

But Granger gave himself away in Atlanta when he appealed rhetorically to his Party faithful to “ask yourself how did the PNC gain office in 1964. Ask yourself how did the PNC remain in office, and what did it do during that period. Ask yourself how the PNC regained office in 2015, and ask yourself how would the PNC retain office after 2020.”
Well, Mr. Granger, only by trickery and fraud.

Granger pulled another stunt when he invited the CARICOM Team to supervise the recount – not to do the recount. He invited a special team to ensure transparency of the result, only to have his appointees on the Commission challenge the decision, and one of his own candidates take it to court!

Granger is either powerless or duplicitous. His repeated conduct is unlikely to allow a benign view. I fear that we are witnessing a repeat of his antics over the No Confidence Motion – NCM Version 2. The Guyana courts sat idly by from 1968 to 1992 as elections were repeatedly rigged. Things have changed, but not enough to warrant too much confidence. After all, two of the country’s most senior judges could not work out the majority of 65! And even then, the Caribbean Court of Justice’s loose language allowed dangerous interpretation and continued occupancy by the Granger Administration.

I repose some confidence that Chief Justice (acting) Madame Roxane George-Wiltshire will take over the case brought by Ulita Grace Moore, the APNU+AFC candidate, effectively to uphold Mingo’s illegal, flawed, and not credible declaration.

The consensus among many, including lawyers, is that she will take over the case from Justice Holder, as she did from Justice Singh. She is entirely familiar with all the issues, moves with energy, and possesses intellectual nimbleness. What Moore and the APNU+AFC are running from is what a recount will expose – fraud on a grand scale. Moore and her backers would do all in their power to stop those ballot papers being recounted.

Before I close, I lend credit to the few APNU/AFC people with courage. Rohit Kanhai of the WPA, Dominic Gaskin of the AFC, and Mr and Mrs Sharma of the JFAP. They stand in stark contrast to Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, whose lust for power and privilege has left them with nothing but ignominy.

As I reflect on Granger’s conduct – or rather misconduct – since his election in 2015, I can arrive at no opinion other than this is Granger’s grand game. But he may have miscalculated the finale. If after all the chicanery he is sworn in, he will be taking the country down with him, along with the APNU+AFC. Burnham was conscious of the Cold War, the international environment, and the era in which he was operating. This is a different world. United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Norwegians have given more than a hint of things to come: Guyana would become a pariah state with all the consequences for its currency; its trade; its seat at the international table; and, most of all, its people.

Despite the obvious decay in electoral processes, we thank him for reigniting the democratic fire in the country. For the disgraceful gift of fraudulent elections, I say thank you, but no thank you, David Granger.

Sincerely,
Christopher Ram