Sentimental allegiance must be far removed

Dear Editor,
The constitutional crisis in Guyana has amplified over the 47-plus days since the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections were held under the auspices of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Our courts have correctly recognised the wide, glaring and blatant undemocratic subversion by politically biased agents within GECOM to derail the true results of these Elections. Yet, the long-awaited assertion of Chairwoman, Retired Justice Claudette Singh over a process of transparent swiftness is still woefully wanting. This is even as critical constitutional timelines approach and other welfare security needs become dire.

Of note, the expansive concurrent global COVID-19 health pandemic is having an increasing impact, while our citizens deserve much more than the scant interim curfew and failing CDC distribution programme Mr David Granger employed.

It no doubt requires the solidity of an organised official and legally empowered Government, together with the coordinated will of all stakeholders to arrest the rapid expansion. This is what Chairwoman Retired Justice Claudette Singh must swiftly ensure.

GECOM’s recent press release of Justice Claudette Singh’s sketchy and full of uncertainty ruling regarding the execution process of the recount of votes emphasises a susceptibility to the twiddling little fingers of PNC agents Keith Lowenfield, Vincent Alexander and their cohorts. At the same time, it advances the implicit recognition of an illegal cabal under Mr Grangers’ agents Moses Nagamootoo and Volda Lawrence, whom he addresses as Ministers.

It appears that Chairwoman Claudette Singh is still affording the overwhelming threats to our country and citizens with sentimental allegiance. As such, it has become necessary for me to remind that making the GECOM recount process dependent on M Nagamootoo and other beneficiary parties of these elections is a conflict of interest, and one tantamount to being complicit in the resulting delays and the undermining of our faltered democracy at the hands of the PNC/APNU/AFC cabal. Madam Singh must immediately stop this charade.

Her capping of the number of counting stations now undermines the GECOM Chairwoman’s previous welcomed statement, that she targets the completion of the recount for April month-end.
This lack of logic contained in the statement is evident, given her silence on other relevant information regarding the commencement time or the duration of working hours. Further, the modalities of ensuring the presence of international observers are glaringly absent; and the conditional inclusions regarding the ‘possible’ availability of resources merely give GECOM’s biased Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and the Alexander cabal playing space. Notably, Vincent Alexander now touts that the 10 stations will bring down the recount period to an intolerable 64 days.

Editor, in ensuring the delivery of her constitutional obligations to the nation, the Chairwoman cannot claim ignorance of the obvious abuse of State resources by the illegal Granger cabal. There is no need for diluting the urgency any longer, given the law and the obvious abuse of State resources at the hands of Mr Granger and his agents. The recently halted partisan distribution of food hampers by the CDC is one example. Another is the highly questionable abuse in the absence of a Government, with regards to the expending of hundreds of millions on repair/restructuring of the Ocean View Hotel, located at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, into a so-called COVID hospital facility.
Who is really in charge of the APNU/AFC?

There is also no hiding that over the past week, the public and social media was imbued with reports of the largesse use of State resources on behalf of the Granger-led APNU/AFC Government. The illegal purpose was to pay the contracting lobbying firm JJ&B LLC, which has provided a false dossier in an attempt to whitewash the image of the APNU/AFC party to the United States Government. Unacceptably, they have done so under the pretext that they were legitimately elected at these elections.

While Mr Granger recently contradicted knowledge of this contract, as he has pretended on numerous other occasions, his high-ranking Commander, Mr Harmon, has spoken to the matter and the dossier identifies him as the notified Government contact person. If Mr Granger does not know of this, then we must ask the obvious questions that include who is really in charge of the APNU/AFC? On the other hand, is Mr Granger part of the author and executor of the outlandish rigging plot? I am overwhelmingly convinced of the latter.

Editor, the writing is on the wall for many existing business operators whether private or public, who are candidly aware that the accurate forecast is critical to stability in the existing financial and economic framework. It lends to decision-making informing their profitability, adjustments to threats or sometimes-mere survival. For those involved in trade and other tax-related activities, the alarm bells have been sounded in the statements of de-recognition and exclusions by the ABCE countries, OAS, Caricom, the Commonwealth the European Union to name a few. Coupled to the COVID-19 virus, the degeneration of GECOM’s image and that of Guyana without a recognised Government has emerged a most potent justification of the position taken by these states.

Many corporate or public agencies have recently been very vocal and one could feel their discomforting apprehension in their fiscal relationships. This relates to the threats of real international sanctions should the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) swear in Mr Granger as President without properly adhering to transparent and credible electoral procedures. In the inherent clear power-grabbing attempts through sickening and undemocratic approaches, the situation exacerbates the level of self-created volatility which when coupled with possible sanctions, will ascertain Guyana’s swifter developmental regression.

In essence, the current political environment characterised by globally observed dubious and fraudulently aligned decisions from GECOM, Mr Granger and APNU/AFC has emerged on one side. The political Opposition together with the rest of the world including our largest trading partners and donors on the other following the Guyana March 2, 2020 Elections. The threat of a sick and unhealthy population looms and we are still playing a game at GECOM. There are obvious and significant consequences for us Guyanese since GECOM and the unrelenting Granger cabal has drawn overwhelming local and international condemnation.

Although the foregoing is by no means exhaustive, the inherent and inexorable breakdown in acceptable social strata would naturally be counter with increased militarisation establishing the pariah/police state. I, therefore, advocate for immediate changes by the GECOM Chairwoman, which must include the announcement of the immediate commencement date and the removal of clearly tainted persons from the process.

Madam Chairwoman, sentimental allegiance must be far removed from the implementation of a democratic Government.

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar