Recount: I have my doubts, and they are not minimal

Dear Editor,

So Gecom has finally agreed to a recount. From my standpoint, though welcome, that is not news, but simply representative of the delayed inevitable, the greatest of anticlimaxes. Call me contemptuous and call me cynical, but wherever that recount leads, it will not leave in a healthy and constructive place.

That is my position, and I can deliver a script right now for any of the two groups that fall short. Someone has got to lose; this being Guyana and the kind of Guyanese around now, there is sure to be problems with that reasoning, that kind of irrefutable logic.

But I move along briskly, though uncharacteristically gingerly; for elections in this country are like dealing with COVID-19: face masks, gloves, and with a ten-foot pole. It can be unhealthy and unwise to do otherwise. At the end of this contribution, I must not forget to sanitize all over thoroughly. Now I must dive deep into the details and the dirty political and racial realities of Guyana.

The actual physical recount aside being done by natives, who is going to come here to watch over, with travel restrictions in place and acute fears well embedded? Who is ready to come here, given their own schedules and personal and official obligations? Who will make themselves available by trusting the protective steps we have taken as timely and comprehensive, and in an effort to lend credence to a now completely discredited process? I think that there is a smoking gun and some dead bodies in those ballot boxes.

But to answer all three questions, if I were a foreign observer, I would not be too interested in things Guyanese at this stage. To be more pointed as a returnee, I don’t give a damn about elections anymore; and this is driven home to me when I consider all the deceptions and widespread smoldering hostilities. To those who have invested all they have, and who buried navel string in the result, I say: good luck and God bless. I still have to fend for myself and find ways to care for those who matter.

I will not be the ward of any political leader or any group, for it is not about who wins, since I now could care less. For all those multitudes, who look to government to be champion, sponsor, and benefactor, I wish the very best. May their dreams come true; they have sold a lot of themselves.

And this brings me to the final question in this shortest of short writings (and indication of my disgust and dismissal), which remains to be answered at the end of the recount process, whoever we cajole and lure to taint themselves: where do we go from that point?

For the benefit and peace of mind of all citizens, it is my sincere hope that genuine democracy will prevail and exhibit its colours, when this grueling episode in our annals is over. Not the familiar colours of Guyanese political parties, but the contours and components that could take us somewhere.

For the last time, I have my doubts, and they are not minimal. Let the games begin. May God in his mercy bless Guyana.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall