ANOTHER week of high drama as Guyana continues to bleed. Guyanese are justified in asking when will it all end? Not since the dreaded days of the inter-ethnic conflicts of the 1960s has this country been asked to endure such turmoil. The week started with the intra-GECOM disagreement between Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh and the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield over the CEO’s report. The chairperson insisted that the CEO must present a report based on the tabulation of the recount, while he contended that to do so would be tantamount to presenting a fraudulent report as the recount order was invalidated by the CCJ. He therefore stood his ground on his position that the only lawful report was one that relied on the 10 reports which were certified and presented by the returning officers back in March.
The chair proceeded to set aside those reports and threatened to fire the CEO if he did not comply with her demands. This, of course, raised the question whether the chairperson could tell the CEO what the content of his report should include. Not for the first time, the events surrounding the March 2 elections threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis. And not for the first time, the parties resorted to the courts for a judicial review.
The court received affidavits and on Friday heard oral arguments. The central questions before the court are whether it has jurisdiction to hear the matter and whether the Recount (Order Number 60) is constitutional. After listening to arguments, the court will hand down its verdict on Monday. Given what has transpired since March 2, one may conclude that this matter is headed straight back to the CCJ. The side that does not prevail on Monday will most likely appeal. How many times have the country not been here only to see the matter prolonged via court action? Some have argued that the latest move to the court is an abuse of the court system, but this publication thinks that that is a harsh conclusion, especially since both sides have registered their right to seek judicial review.
But even as the court was settling down to hear the case, Guyana woke up to a bombshell on Wednesday. The USA announced through its secretary of state, the revocation of visas of government and GECOM officials. The announcement inflamed sentiments on one side of the political divide, while the other side gleefully welcomed it. The picture of these two responses is a sad reminder of our unfinished journey to joint nationhood. The defiance by the popular masses on one side and the celebration by the other side tells a sad tale about Guyanese independence.
The other countries of the ABCE grouping have since promised similar action, even as the USA signalled its intention to broaden the initial sanctions. While these actions should come as little surprise to some, given the more than usual entanglement in the election by these forces, it is evidently painful for those who cherish Guyana’s independence. This publication has in the past refrained from supporting external interference in Guyana’s internal affairs. We reiterate that today. Whatever difficulties we have had with our elections, that is not licence for the type of overt interference we have witnessed.
This latest action feeds the narrative that the elections are being used by the West to effect regime change with the PPP/C as the local agent and beneficiary. At the heart of this thesis is the assumption that Guyana’s recent oil-and-gas finds and its proximity to Venezuela have brought the country squarely into the geopolitics of the time. The coming weeks will most likely prove the correctness of this thesis. But for now, this publication joins with those patriotic Guyanese in calling for respect of the country’s sovereignty. In many regards it is all we have. Should the country be pulled further down the slippery slope, it is the Guyanese people who would suffer most. The promised oi revenues which are said to be at the heart of the developments would be lost to foreign forces as Guyanese succumb to the pressures of selfish partisan lust for power. We are living in serious times which demands mature and imaginative leadership, instead of collusion with forces who are interested in pursuing their own interests.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_7-19-2020