President deserves applause for use of recount as basis of election declaration

Dear Editor,
Guyanese applaud the President for reaffirming his support for the recount exercise in the face of adverse posturing and issuance of ultimatums to GECOM by his colleagues. Guyanese are relieved that the President has reaffirmed his commitment to the recount as the basis for a declaration of the results of the election.

Voters tell this writer that tabulations from the recount must be used for a declaration of the outcome. The purpose of the agreed upon recount was to ascertain the certification of the original count. They feel that since the recount has been conducted amidst an agreement between the government and opposition, supervised by GECOM and under ‘scrutiny’ of a three-member CARICOM team, it must supplant the count. It is noted that the recount has been very open and transparent as witnessed by domestic and international observers including the OAS and EU.

As per interactions with voters and from views obtained by poll interviewers, the SOP fraud of ballot certification by Mingo on March 4 of Region 4 shocked the conscience of Guyanese from all political persuasions. The certification was described by observers and by voters as bizarre and surreal. They never thought that electoral fraud would be attempted in public view in the presence of international diplomats and observers.  It required extraordinary courage to rig a count in public view.

In this modern day, rigging is almost impossible on camera. There was a relief when the fraud was nullified in the high court that ordered a new certification of ballots for region 4. But the court was defied and the fraud repeated for certification of Region 4 SOPS on March 13. Guyanese expressed disappointment in the behaviour of the chair who failed to take action to stop the fraud. She saw her likeability, favorability, and performance numbers dived but reversing course in recent days.

Voters are unanimously in agreement with the international community that fraud must not be legitimized. They want the declaration of the winner that can only be obtained from the recount. They also say that political parties must begin to accept that legitimate governance must come from the will of voters, not from electoral fraud. Political parties can no longer depend on manipulation of electoral rolls, impersonating or ‘impostering’ voters, stuffing ballot boxes at the closure of voting time, violence and threats, fraudulent certification of SOPs, and GECOM staff to manufacture a victory for them.

The outcome of the election now depends on the vote of GECOM Chair Claudette Singh. The chair must accept the recount as the basis for the declaration. Otherwise, she and the country would face international sanctions. Affirming the recount would allow Guyana to remain an accepted member of the family of democratic nations, cause Guyanese to accept the results, allow the country to move forward, and start the rebuilding process.

Guyanese thank the President for his statements to accept the declaration by the Chair as per the tabulations of the recount. The President and the coalition have been taking a beating in public opinion amongst traditional supporters with the shenanigans being displayed since March 4. The coalition has been losing support initially for refusal to display SOPs to buttress claims of victory and now for coming up with red herrings over jumbie and immigrant voters and other unverifiable allegations.

The coalition supporters advise that their party peacefully accept the outcome and start rebuilding. They remind the leadership that a strong opposition is needed to critically hold a government accountable given the imminent oil wealth on the horizon.  The international community has warned the coalition that it would not be recognized unless it adheres to democratic norms and accept the outcome of elections.

Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram