Dear Editor,
IN human history, when mistakes are made, we all look forward to opportunities, first to learn lessons and second to avoid making similar mis-steps in the future.
I write this letter the day after the results of the recount have been published, but what does the recount and subsequent action mean for Guyana?

The 2020 elections have exposed again the sad, sorry state of our national estate.
In an effort to have this condition examined a letter was sent to the leadership of the main political parties and published in sections of the media, January 2019.

In that letter, I proposed the immediate establishment of a National-Front Government, and made a number of suggestions, including a severe code of conduct for all leaders.
Let us be reminded that in the mid-fifties, our two national leaders (Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham) sought to create a new society as a result of the Waddington Constitution.

At that time, our workers were united across social and ethnic barriers where there was no racial tension, no greed or personal ambition.

They also sought to create a new Guyana man. This was during the height of the Cold War, and a treacherous world. The powerful leaders did not believe that a country of less than a million people deserved to go beyond the boundary of neocolonialism. The rest is history.
The two main political parties (PNC AND PPP) tinkered with the noble objective of unity. We saw the civic component, the reform, and now the second Coalition in our modern political history. None of these have brought us nearer to the goal of our dream of One People, One Nation, One Destiny.

This is a good time for us to work to realise the Burnham-Jagan dream; that is, the creation of a strong United Citizenship.

Let it be known that as the Cold War was winding down, Dr. Cheddi B. Jagan and Forbes Burnham accepted that unless they could find a mechanism for working together, our people would stumble.

The late Elvin Mc David was the principal go-between for these quiet Burnham-Jagan talks.
I was part of this quiet effort, and state without fear of contradiction that the two leaders were anxious to set aside differences and return to the 1953 situation, with the grouping (Burnham-Jagan) would lead Guyana to glory.

After Burnham’s demise, I made an effort to restart this initiative and rekindle the flames of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

One evening, Dr. Joey Jagan brought his father, Cheddi, to my home in Lodge for a social chat. I had hoped to use the occasion to resume talks.
Unfortunately, Desmond Hoyte, unaware of the earlier talks, was hostile to the idea of PPP-PNC talks.

This, I regard as a tragedy.
The 2020 Elections results exposes the fact that in spite of the rhetoric with Afro, Indo-Guyanese relationships, three generations on, the rending of our social fabric has not seen much repair.

An examination of the ballot boxes from certain areas tells us that much change has not taken place, in so far as our voting pattern is concerned.

If, for whatever reason, we cannot recover from the earlier Apan Jaat crusade, then we must bring as a matter of urgency, our history of race relations since the end of slavery and the introduction of immigrants, allowing our people to see what can unite us as against what can divide us.

This education should begin from the cradle.
We must therefore forge boldly and systematically to deal with our racial ethnic demographics and come to an arrangement that affectively caters for this reality.
Many of us feel duty bound to avoid any form of pessimism, but evidence is now crystal clear. We are a divided nation.

Future governance, if it is to be successful must take account of the above situation.
Long before any other elections are held our Leaders must be prevailed upon to sit and in a civilized manner and talk things through.

Mr. Editor, this is a position I have taken for four decades.
In the late 1950’s, a group led by Eusi Kwayana out of the desperation to find a feasible forward step, even discussed the possibility of some form of partition.
This post-election period must not see us further frustrated but pursuing every opportunity for educating our young people of Guyana about our social and political history, which itself will remove the veil of bigotry and ignorance and allow us to march forward triumphantly.

Regards,
Hamilton Green

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

THE African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) has pointed out that the national recount, riddled with irregularities, puts the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in the same position it was previously in when it could not make a final pronouncement on the elections due to a lack of transparency.

In a release to the media on Tuesday, ACDA stated that the high number of missing documents realised during the recount has brought into question the credibility of the elections and GECOM, holding the responsibility to conduct said elections, cannot declare results it cannot verify. “The Guyana Elections Commission has had valuable assets stolen from it that prevents it from using the information from the recount to pronounce differently on the elections than it did earlier,” ACDA stated, adding:

“The recent discoveries revealed that documents that can confirm the will of the Guyanese electors are missing from the official repositories of GECOM, clearly suggesting that the apparent illegality was committed at source with the intention to hide the misconduct. Unless those documents become available, ACDA takes the position that the information from the recount is less credible than the information provided from the first count.”

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has argued that every election will produce margins of error and the ones discovered by the coalition are minimal. However, the APNU+AFC contends that there are “clearly linked” patterns amongst the irregularities which invalidated votes cast for the party. It is also steadfast in the position that fraudulent votes cannot be counted and that GECOM has the responsibility to deliver credible results to the electorate.

The last recital of the Order provides that the conduct of the recount process is for the purpose of “…the reconciliation of the ballots issued with the ballots cast, destroyed, spoiled, stamped, and as deemed necessary, their counterfoils/ stubs; authenticity of the ballots and the number of voters listed and crossed out as having voted; the number of votes cast without ID cards; the number of proxies issued and the number utilised; statistical anomalies; occurrences recorded in the Poll Book”.

ACDA has declared that it was the first organisation to support the decision of the President and the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, to have a recount of the votes and it also requested that the recount be done in chronological order in all 10 Districts.

ACDA said that it did so with the belief that the recount would help to accurately determine the results of the March 2, 2020 elections but the loss of “valuable data” highlighted during the recount exercise, makes it impossible for GECOM to ascertain, in totality, the will of the Guyanese people.

The Association maintained: “It cannot be that the contents that should be in 41 boxes from polling stations on the East Coast of Demerara and many others from other areas of the country could randomly vanish into thin air. The stealing of such a large quantity of GECOM’s data seem to fit an intentional pattern of deception which was intended to alter the true will of the Guyanese electors. This also calls into question the validity of the votes in the affected areas and the credibility of the information emerging from the recount exercise.” It compared the severity of the loss to that of the loss of bank records and has since called on the commission to shun the information from the recount if it cannot validate all the results.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

CLOSE to three months after it was shelved, the contempt matter in the case Reeaz Holladar v. Returning Officer for Region 4 Clairmont Mingo and others, will be heard by Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 11:00hrs, via Zoom.
The contempt-of-court matter, which will be heard in the High Court, was filed by the late Reeaz Holladar, a private citizen, over the alleged failure of the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer to adhere to the orders handed down by the High Court on March 11, 2020.

The Chief Justice had ruled that the declaration of votes made by said Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo on March 5 was unlawful, on the grounds that there was substantial non-compliance with Section 84 (1) of the Representation of the People Act when the Statements of Poll (SOPs) for District 4 (as Region Four is called for elections purposes) were tabulated. She then ordered that the verification process, which was interrupted, be resumed or restarted, and that the SOPs be tabulated and projected in the presence of persons entitled to be there under the law.

When the contempt matter came up in the High Court for the first time on March 13, it was alleged that while the tabulation process was recommenced on March 12, the Returning Officer had resorted to the use of a spreadsheet for the tabulation of the votes in the reported absence of the SOPs, a move which resulted in major objections from agents attached to some political parties. The disagreement later resulted in the tabulation process being suspended for the day, and Holladar moving to file Contempt of Court proceedings on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

But in the RO’s defence, Attorney-at-Law Robin Hunte and Senior Counsel Neil Boston told the Chief Justice that their client was adhering to the orders of the High Court, despite attempts by some to derail the process. But in responding to a series of questions posed by Justice George-Wiltshire, Boston explained that the Returning Officer had placed the contents of the SOPs and the polling station number on a screen for the duly-appointed candidates and observers to view.

The Chief Justice had then made it clear that the Returning Officer must produce the SOPs during the tabulation process.

While noting that it was not for the representatives of the various political parties and observers to disrupt the process by raising concerns after concerns, Justice George-Wilshire had said that they were entitled to view the SOPs, in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03. A second declaration by the Region Four Returning Officer was made on March 13, 2020. In a separate court case later that month, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, while acknowledging that the initial declaration made by Mingo was set aside by Chief Justice, said during the final tabulation exercise, SOPs were used at all material times.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

– Jagdeo admits more processes to follow
– recount process still at stage 2

CELEBRATING victory at this stage of the national recount process is premature, and even the People’s Progressive Party/C Civic, which previously did such, has come to realise that the four stages of the process must be respected.

The recount shows the PPP/C in the lead by 15,416 votes but has unearthed massive irregularities and alleged cases of electoral fraud which the APNU+AFC estimates have compromised 90,000 votes. Nonetheless, on June 7, when the recount was completed and tabulation continued, a crowd of PPP/C supporters, egged on by their leaders, celebrated victory.

On the other hand, the APNU+AFC, led by President David Granger, reminded that the Elections Commission was only now at Stage 2 of a four-stage process. Later acceding to same was Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, during a message on his Facebook page, on Tuesday, calling for persons to respect the GECOM Chair.

In concluding his remarks, he stated: “I, therefore, call on you to exercise restraint as we await CEO Lowenfield’s expeditious submission of a tabulation of the certified recount results from the ten electoral districts, together with a summary of the observation reports for each district to the Commission. The Commission will then meet and discuss this report consistent with its mandate, and the final results should be declared in accordance with the Order, on or before the 16th of June.”

On previous occasions such as an address to the nation, President Granger had also urged the public to await the completion of the exercise. “I encourage everyone to await the completion of the four stages – the current recount, the reports of the Chief Elections Officer and the CARICOM observers, the review by the Elections Commission and the declarations of the final results by the Chairman of the Commission,” he had stated.

The above remarks from both leaders stand true to the Order which legally triggered the recount. It outlines Stage 1 as the counting of the ballots and Stage 2 as the compilation of reports which must be handed over for review by the Commission. At stage two — where the process currently is — Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield must submit a report of the recount no later than June 13.

The report will include a summary of the Observation Reports for each District. It is in these observation reports that the APNU+AFC, primarily, has highlighted over 6,000 cases which it believes are tied to electoral fraud. These cases include: counterfoils and ballots carrying the same number; ballots for one region cast in another; ballots cast for the dead and persons who have migrated; persons voting without proper identification; persons voting outside of their districts without employment documents; large numbers of improperly stamped ballots at locations where disciplined services members voted; missing poll books and documents from one polling station being found in the ballot boxes of another.

It is also expected that the three-member CARICOM Scrutinising Team will present a report on their observations, recommendations and conclusions to the Commission. When the said reports are received by the Commission, it will then proceed to Stage 3 which will see them deliberating on the reports and how they will be treated with.

The amended Order states: “The Commission shall, after deliberating on the report at Paragraph 12, determine whether it should request the Chief Election Officer to use the data compiled in accordance with Paragraph 12 as the basis for the submission of a report under Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Cap 1:03, provided that the Commission shall, no later than three (3) days after receiving the report, make the declaration of the results of the final credible count of the elections held on the 2nd day 

Once the report is deliberated upon, Stage 4 should commence as the Commission will be in the position to know clearly whether the CEO should use the data to compile a final report for the declaration of the results by GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. The Elections Commission has had previous cause to remind the public and persons who address the media that it is the only body with the legal right to pronounce on general and regional elections in the country.

It has stated: “While the National Recount of the ballots cast in those elections is almost to an end, the Commission wishes to remind that the Guyana Elections Commission is the only Constitutional authority mandated to pronounce on the results of the elections. In this regard, the Commission is urging political parties, organizations, interest groups and other individuals to desist from pronouncing publicly on the results of the elections.”

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

AFTER months of verbal abuse, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has now called on his supporters to stop attacking the character of the chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh.

Both Jagdeo’s party and his supporters had been brutally critical of Justice Singh and have often referred to her in derogatory terms. Besides, Justice Singh had received death threats and other attacks from unknown elements. However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Jagdeo said: “I’ve noticed very harsh comments by supporters of the APNU+AFC and PPP/C directed at the Chairperson of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh. I wish to urge our supporters and well-wishers to refrain from ad hominem attacks against Justice Singh.”

He added that the last few months have been a difficult period where the Chair has had to contend with key elements within the Secretariat and the three APNU+AFC Commissioners, who are bent on undermining every effort aimed at producing a credible result which reflects the will of the electorate. “The recount could not have been completed without her leadership and steadfastness. The fact that she was present at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre throughout the entire process is testimony to her commitment to ensuring its completion in keeping with the undertaking that she had given to the court,” Jagdeo noted. According to him, when he and President David Granger I appointed Justice Singh “we did so with knowledge of her personal and professional integrity.” “I, therefore, call on you to exercise restraint as we await CEO Lowenfield’s expeditious submission of a tabulation of the certified recount results from the 10 electoral districts together with a summary of the observation reports for each district to the commission. The commission will then meet and discuss this report consistent with its mandate, and the final results should be declared in accordance with the Order, on or before the June 16,” Jagdeo said.

President David Granger has been consistent in urging respect for Justice Singh and in almost all of his statements related to the elections, he has called upon Guyanese to respect GECOM’s independence and its chair. In his latest statement last Saturday, President Granger said thusly: “I applaud the diligence and persistence of the Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh, who continues to perform her duties under the Constitution admirably. She demonstrated her respect for the rulings of the court and has facilitated CARICOM’s observation role in the recount process in order to assure everyone of the credibility of the elections.

I encourage everyone to respect the Chairman of the Elections Commission and the commissioners, and to desist from scurrility, vulgarity and character assassination. The commission must be allowed to perform its functions in accordance with the Constitution. I encourage everyone to await the completion of the four stages–the current recount, the reports of the Chief Elections Officer and the CARICOM observers, the review by the Elections Commission and the declaration of the final results by the Chairman of the Commission.”

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

Dear Editor,
DESPITE the evident triumphalism of the PPP/C and its supporters, the only real news emerging from the recount exercise is that the 2020 elections were riddled with irregularities, which, in effect, amounts to fraud. As I have long speculated, the votes in the boxes are severely compromised by a widespread and systematic manipulation of an electoral system that easily allowed for such interference. And the culprits are on both sides of the political divide. For the good of Guyana, that fact must be established and acknowledged by GECOM, the various stakeholders, and the Guyanese people.

This letter is not to argue whether numbers should trump system, or whether systemic manipulation must meet a certain threshold in order to become fraud. I think we have passed that point. Suffice to say that any awarding of the election to either the APNU+AFC or the PPP/C would be tantamount to putting the official stamp on electoral fraud. That would, by any measure, be a travesty of formal democracy, but, above all, it would represent a travesty of natural and social justice. And both sides would be justified in feeling cheated.

Guyana is a stubborn country; its people are often put in the position of having to place the political dagger to the proverbial throat of the “other”, and call that act by another name. It is a state of affairs that takes root, and skews the collective minds in dangerous directions, so, we play with danger with little care for the consequences. As is now happening in real-time, we look only for validation of our respective narratives; the “other” ceases to exist as real, living, and legitimate.

Nevertheless, history persists in breaching the walls of that unreason by offering another path. One such path is for GECOM to use the results of the recount to spark a quest for a new order to Guyana, at least in the short-term. Should GECOM annul the election for want of credibility, it could open up a whole new chapter for our beleaguered country. More than two months ago, I floated the idea of annulling the election, and putting in place an interim government, with the express task of overhauling the electoral and governance systems to bring them in line with the crying demands of the country. I was attacked by the “ethnic democrats” and their cohorts in “civil society” as being a madman who wanted to deny the PPP/C its victory and to violate the votes of Guyanese.

Now two months later that very proposal has emerged as a credible alternative to the chaos that is likely to emerge from awarding the election to one of the parties and its camp. In our embrace of the carnival of domination we often do not see commonsense even when it spits in our faces. As it was on the morning of March 3, the fairest decision GECOM should arrive at is the annulling of the election, which then opens the way for an interim power-sharing government for a stipulated period of no more than two years, with the task of doing what I suggested above.

The problem is that the PPP/C, which has already declared itself the winner, is unlikely to embrace such an outcome. We have to deal with that when we get to that point. In the spirit of the times, Guyana deserves to breathe, but to do so, it must get the winner-loser knee off its neck.

Regards,
David Hinds

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

…says much more needed to promote racial harmony in Guyana

Cognizant of the fact that Guyana remains a racially divided nation, the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), in its quest to foster racial harmony, will be enhancing the work of its Race Relations Committee as it celebrates its 23rd Anniversary today.

As in the case of any other Elections in Guyana, the 2020 General and Regional Election has resulted in a highly racially charged environment, but GPSU, through its Race Relations Committee, has been joining forces to promote racial harmony.

“There is still much work to be done to promote racial harmony, acceptance and tolerance among the wider society and to remove the scourge of racial and xenophobic intolerance and prejudices from the mindset of many individuals in Guyana,” GPSU said in a statement on Tuesday.

It pointed out that the utterances of certain politicians, during the General and Regional Elections 2020 campaign, contributed to the widespread tension and protests, including unwarranted attacks on staff of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). “Urgent actions need to be taken to defuse, where necessary any likely racial prejudices,” it posited, while challenging Guyanese to do better.

“The GPSU urges the general public to desist from engaging in any conduct that would be disruptive or harmful to anyone. No good can come from tearing apart our neighborhoods and destroying our communities. It is time for us to open our minds, shed our biases and engage in constructive dialogue and productive actions that benefit all of us as a nation. Let us remember that while we may be of different races and may have different stories we are humans, “One People” created equal under God!,” GPSU urged.

Today marks 23 years since the GPSU’s Race Relations Committee was formally launched, to address, largely many of the issues the country still faces.

Its formation received international commendation from Sir Herman Ouseley, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, London, United Kingdom; Bro. Han Engelberts, General Secretary, Public Services International, Ferney, France; and Bro. Joseph Pollydore, General Secretary, Guyana Trades Union Congress among others.

“The genesis of this action was premised on the change of the Government of Guyana with Elections held on 5th November 1992, which was a concomitant change as a result of a ground swell of poor ethnic relations in communities. Additionally, within the public service of Guyana it was obvious that the incoming government lacked confidence without merit, in the holders of many public service offices, who were predominantly of different ethnicities to the presumed racial support base of the then elected government. Actions taken by the new government were extremely glaring and unsubstantiated both in the national public service and in the Guyana Diplomatic Missions based overseas,” the GPSU recalled as it walked down memory lane.

It said the posture of the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government resulted in serious conflict with the Union, which at the time, had challenged the Government’s campaign of ethnic cleansing.

“Most glaring was the action taken at the Customs and Excise Department when over 90 percent of the most senior staff members, including the then Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Clarence Chue and his Deputy, Mr. Harold Bahadur were instructed to go on indefinite leave in November 1992, in a most highhanded and irregular manner,” it recalled.

At the time, it was flooded with numerous complaints, prompting it to look at racism in a more holistic manner. It noted that the approach to dealing with this problem changed from an individualist approach that was being used on a case by case basis to a general assessment of the root cause of the problem and path forward.

“It was decided that the course of action to be taken was to amend the rules of the Union to incorporate the race relations mission as one of its functions with clearly defined objectives. The Union was forced to take this route because notwithstanding the pledge of the Government to establish an Ethnic Relations Commission and to address the scourge of racism nationally, this committee never functioned,” it said.

It, however, admitted that its first attempt to include race relations in its rules had shortcomings. Years later, a steering committee was appointed by the President of the GPSU with the mandate to prepare a strategic plan and submit recommendations to address and improve race relations within the union and the Public Service.

The Steering Committee commenced work on November 30, 1996 and December 26, 1996, it submitted a Concept Paper to the Executive Council and an agenda for the period January – June 1997, which concluded with the launching of this committee.

At the launching of this committee the President of the Union, Patrick Yarde, acknowledged that the citizenry was thrown together by historic occurrences which compels them to coexist with each other. He had said that, in effect, the relationship was a marriage with no provisions for divorce.

Admitting that there was no blue-print to deal with racism, Yarde said the Union took the commonsense approach in addressing the unavoidable environment in which workers lived and operate. In attendance, the Late Mrs. Janet Jagan, Prime Minister of Guyana addressed the gathering and endorsed the efforts of the Union.

“The GPSU is proud of its efforts to maintain good and enlightened race relations at the leadership level, the membership level, the staff level, the community level, and at agencies throughout Guyana. However, observations and concerns made then at the launching of the Committee on June 9th, 1997, 23 years ago, are all still significantly relevant today,” it acknowledged.

Since the launching of the committee, the Union’s Rules were further amended to extend the mandate of the Committee to deal with Equality and Human Rights.

Its Executive Council has not only enhanced the work of its Race Relations Committee in its current Strategic Plan and Programme of Activities but has identified it as one of the top priorities of the Union. The only aspect now being looked at is the redefining and streamlining of the Union’s programme in engaging members in this new environment of COVID-19 and the requirements of social and physical distancing. This is being done in compliance with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Four-Pillar Policy Framework on the Revised Decent Work Agenda, taking into consideration this new development.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

-Henry Jeffrey rubbishes contention that allegations could only be ventilated via elections petition

POLITICAL Analyst, Dr. Henry Jeffrey, said the allegations of electoral fraud, which surfaced during the national recount, ought to be thoroughly investigated by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) ahead of the declaration of the results of the General and Regional Elections, as he dismissed the contention that those allegations could only be ventilated in the High Court via an elections petition.

The national recount, which commenced on May 6, has unearthed a wide range of irregularities and alleged cases of electoral fraud, which, according to the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), have compromised approximately 90,000 votes. These irregularities include the discovery of 41 ballot boxes void of statutorily-required documents and missing certificates of employment, official lists of electors, oaths of identity, poll books, unused ballots and counterfoils. There were also cases in which the oaths of identity were unsigned and ballots, unstamped and partially stamped, resulting in them being deemed rejected. Added to that, the APNU+AFC has cited more than 3,000 cases, in which, it alleged that unscrupulous people voted in the place of the dead or persons who were out of the jurisdiction on March 2 when the General and Regional Elections were held in Guyana.

“Whether or not this has taken place is not a matter for speculation, but can be and must be sufficiently verified factually. If a factual investigation finds that not only one or 10 or even 100 migrants and/or dead person ‘voted’ in the elections, but hundreds and over 1,000 did and that this did not happen in one or two regions but in every region of the country, what are we to conclude? For me, the problem is not merely numerical; it is structural and suggests that some corrupt actor has been systematically attempting to influence the outcome of the 2020 elections,” Dr. Jeffrey said on June 3 in his weekly column – Future Notes, under the title – “When the winner becomes a loser.”

In a discourse on Monday, during a programme called ‘Periscope on Politics’ aired on News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM, Dr. Jeffrey iterated that these irregularities and alleged cases of electoral fraud cannot be simply brushed aside.

“Allegations are being made, and once they are being made, they must be properly investigated, and the outcome factored into the final decision,” Dr. Jeffrey said.

While the APNU+AFC has been urging GECOM to investigate these irregularities, many of which surfaced in the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) strongholds, the PPP/C and its allies have been up in arms against any investigation by the Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh-led Elections Commission, on the basis that Article 163 of the Constitution gives the High Court exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate on matters of electoral fraud. On the flip side, the APNU+AFC has argued that Article 162 (1) (b) gives wide powers to the Elections Commission to ensure an impartial and fair electoral process.

“I don’t buy that these complaints have to be left to some sort of elections petition,” Dr. Jeffrey said, while adding, “I think it would be illogical and I would say stupid.”
“Hear what you are saying must happen – the persons who are being accused of stealing must be given the instrument – the government in other words – to prevent the investigations from happening. We have seen it happen; we have seen it happen before where up to now the petition that the PPP left has not occurred,” the political analyst said.
But while PPP/C Executive Member, Anil Nandlall, has said that the Elections Commission not only lacks the constitutional powers to facilitate an investigation but the capacity to do, Dr. Jeffrey, who forms part of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), said the Elections Commission call upon instruments of the State for assistance.

“…Whether or not these things happen, whether or not they happen, can be proven and must be proven satisfactorily, to the satisfaction of the Commission and its Chairman,” he emphasised.

BLOATED LIST
With a number of electoral safeguards in place, sections of society have argued that it was impossible for persons to vote in the place of the deceased and or electorates who were out of the jurisdiction on Elections Day, but Dr. Jeffrey posited that the Official List of Electors is undoubtedly bloated, and has created a breeding ground for electoral fraud to take place, for which both of the major political parties have used it to their advantage.

Long ahead of the no-confidence motion, the APNU+AFC had championed the cause for GECOM to facilitate house-to-house registration, so as to generate a new National Register of Registrants Database (NRRD), from which the Official List of Electors could be extracted, and though GECOM, in 2019, moved the initiate the process, under the leadership of Justice James Patterson, the PPP/C, in objection, moved to the High Court to block the move.

GECOM, under the chairmanship of Justice Singh – later took a decision to discontinue the exercise and merge the data from the house-to-house registration with the National Register of Registrants Database. The outcome – a list with more than 600,000 electors, notwithstanding the fact that Guyana’s population is 750,000.

“Why do you want to stop that from happening? Well, we have the result here…You went to elections with an extremely bloated electoral list, and now, you are hearing from the other side that dead people have voted, thousands of people abroad have voted,” the political analyst reasoned.

Maintaining a long held position, Dr. Jeffrey contended that both of the major political parties have used the “bloated” List of Electors to their benefit as part of a “culture of rigging” the elections, so as to attain a majority in the National Assembly.
In his column – ‘When the winner becomes a loser’ – Dr. Jeffrey submitted that the conspiratorial system, which has for far too long undermined and devalued the votes of the electorate, has now been broken down.

“Justice demands that given this opportunity, GECOM must do all it can to destroy this conspiratorial network that it has been bequeathed by the very conspirators who have refused to create a more democratic framework or at the minimum a clean electoral list! It appears to me absurd to conceive of doing otherwise and propagandistic comments about what the law is will not suffice. What is lawful is for courts to determine and the objecting parties can go immediately to court and present their case,” he said.

In light of the situation that currently faces the GECOM, Dr. Jeffrey, in his discourse with News-Talk Radio Guyana, said had he been the Chair of the Elections Commission, and there was a clear case of electoral fraud, he would have taken a “radical” decision to force the political parties to work together under the chairmanship for the Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards. Under such a circumstance, he suggested that the List of Electors should be “cleaned,” and elections be held after 18 months.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

THE Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) has distanced itself from remarks made by one of its Commissioners, Haji Dr. Roshan Khan on June 8, 2020 who spoke on the recount process as birthing “very credible” results.

Khan had invited himself to the media tent set up outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), where the national recount was held, and claimed that he was “instructed” to say what he did on behalf of the ERC.

It’s a claim that the ERC has since refuted, by way of a release issued on Tuesday saying: “The Commission would like to categorically state that the views expressed by Commissioner Khan at that forum were solely his, and not that of the ERC. Even as the Commission awaits the official declaration of the results by the Guyana Elections Commission, citizens are urged to exude patience, calm and respect for each other.” The Commission sought to remind the public that throughout the recount process, it has only been awarded observer status, and that assertions on the elections are best lefty to GECOM. The ERC said in conclusion that it looks forward to working with all Guyanese for the greater good of the nation.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020

Dear Editor,
AS a citizen of Guyana watching the progress of our 2020 elections I am deeply concerned about the misinformation  permeating our society, threatening  the body politic of our nation but more specifically the credibility  and outcome of our 2020 elections.  Our nation has witnessed attack upon attack on the credibility of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), and the Chairperson of GECOM who until now has had an unblemished and distinguished professional and character record.

Prior to the 2020 elections, I also recall no such attacks on the Secretariat and Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of GECOM as we hear now.  The PPP/C and their various support team members, including sections of the media, however, want us to believe the credibility of GECOM has been destroyed by Mr. Clairmont Mingo. He has once again become the “fall guy” who is responsible for the PPP/C areas in the lower East Coast Demerara producing 41 ballot boxes without statutory documentation, and evidence circulating to this effect is allegedly implicating his clerk.

I know neither of these two individuals (Mr. Mingo nor Ms. Duncan), but I see where the possibility exists how they are being framed and used as scapegoats to take the blame for  the dastardly acts of  possible electoral fraud committed by others . This impacts not only these two individual,s but also the credibility and efficiency of GECOM, whilst providing shelter for those who know exactly why the documentations are missing, and where they can be located. The racial connotations behind their being targeted are also noted. But that requires a separate review.

I refer to an article published by Kaieteur News dated 6th May 2020 and captioned, “Mingo had instructed POs to leave documents out of ballot boxes”.  Said article states, “The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is in possession of the missing statutory documents from Region Four ballot boxes on the East Coast of Demerara, documents that were ‘missing’ because Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo had passed instructions that they be left out of the boxes since Elections night.”

The above is premised on a statement made by Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) from Chateau Margot Primary, Paul Jaisingh, who, in a letter to GECOM Chair, Justice Claudette Singh, explained the “instructions from Miss. Carlyn Duncan (Clerk to the Returning Officer Mr. Clairmont Mingo-District # 4)”.  Said email by DRO Paul Jaisingh triggered a widely-circulated article on social media. A telephone conversation purportedly supplied evidence of the conversation held.

Take note of this conversation below, as I submit, DRO JaiSingh’s claim is likely an attempt to frame Mingo and cover electoral fraud:

I submit if the evidence circulating about Mr. Mingo and Ms. Duncan is true , then so is the evidence submitted in this letter to prove there was a conversation as recent as today (June 9th 2020) between  Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan. They are alive and squabbling over these elections.  Technology can make most things possible and believable. As was the case of the letter with Justice Claudette Singh’s signature. It can also be used to generate official emails copied to others. We have to be on the alert in this information/technology age and not be gullible.

Regards,
Debra Archer

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_6-10-2020