Dear Editor:
SINCE the 1980s the Open Concept has been the preferred choice for office layouts. This concept is preferred because it lends itself to improved communication amongst the workers, greater team work and enhanced supervision.

Along with those benefits, customers much prefer those types of offices. They prefer them as it gives them greater confidence in the workers that they are dealing with and they relish the fact that they can view their transactions as they are being dealt with. Banks, Insurance companies and generally every company that caters to the public utilise the Open Concept. Even some restaurants utilise this concept. When one visits government entities they generally are met with an open layout and you can view the staff as they go about their duties.

That’s why it was surprising to hear Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson using the excuse of protecting the GECOM staff as the reason for not wanting the recount to be livestreamed. The majority of persons who will be working during the recount are accustomed to working in full view of the public, so livestreaming would not bother them one bit. In fact, a majority of those workers would prefer the live stream as it would work as free advertisement for them to hundreds of potential employers who would be able to view their work ethic and their professionalism as they engage in the recount.

It is transparent however, why Patterson and the coalition are against the livestreaming of the recount as it would show the world the true winners of the elections, or expose those who would seek to corrupt the recount. I therefore implore the Chairperson of GECOM to acquiesce to the wishes of the majority of Guyanese and give us unfettered access to the recount.
Regards
Sherwyn Greaves

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_05_04_2020

…preliminary results show no path to parliamentary seat

By Lisa Hamilton

PRELIMINARY results provided by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) show that the performance of individual small parties contesting the General and Regional Elections is disappointing.

Based on votes already received for key regions, it is unlikely that any will secure the presidency and hardly likely will stand a chance at securing a seat in the National Assembly.

Small parties contesting the General Elections are: A New and United Guyana (ANUG); Change Guyana (CG); Liberty and Justice Party (LJP); People’s Republic Party (PRP); The Citizenship Initiative (TCI); The New Movement (TNM) and the United Republican Party (URP).

GENERAL ELECTIONS REVIEW
At Guyana Chronicle’s press time on Tuesday night, the votes of each party stood at: ANUG – 252; CG – 255; LJP – 195; PRP – 115; TCI – 78; TNM – 25 and URP – 52. These results were processed at 18:31hrs. The party in the lead is Change Guyana, led by businessman, Robert Badal. The party was launched in October 2019 plugging tax-free benefits for Guyanese and new business investments. Close behind is ANUG, led by former speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran. The party was launched in January 2019 and is big on constitutional reform.

On the heels of the two is the LJP headed by former Toshao, Lennx Shuman. The party was launched on January 12, 2019, projecting early on that it would be a strong advocate for Amerindian issues. The PRP follows next led by Christian leader, Phyllis Jordan. The party, launched in December 2019, promises to lift Guyana to higher moral standards and sharing strong views against abortion and homosexuality.

And way behind is TCI headed by educator, Rondha-Ann Lam. The party was launched on October 17, 2019 with promises of constitutional reform and campaign-financing laws.
The two lowest performers as of the above-mentioned time were newcomer TNM led by medical practitioner, Dr. Asha Kissoon and longtime contester, URP led by businessman, Dr. Vishnu Bandhu.

The TNM was launched in November 2019 labelling itself as a party of “young professionals,” while TNM hoped to end the ‘winner-take-all’ system by securing representation in the National Assembly. Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Executive Member, Dr. David Hinds, had told

this newspaper in October 2019, that even though he is pleased to see more political groups join the fray, their emergence is ill-timed. “There are parties that arise out of the political and social situation in the country, and then there are parties that are formed around elections time, and I think a lot of the newer parties that you’re seeing now are parties that are formed around the election time, which means that they are formed just to contest the elections,” he reasoned.

“I think in the environment that we have now in Guyana, it’s very polarised, and I don’t think that voters in either of the two big ethnic blocs are about to experiment with a new party, because that’s what they will be doing if they vote for these small parties. It would be an experiment, and I don’t think voters are in the mood to experiment, because, you know, there is a lot at stake in these elections.”

He had put forward that his belief is that the only means for the recently-emerging parties to make a difference elections-wise was to “form partnerships with the bigger parties.

While several of the parties refused this option, LJP, ANUG and TMN entered into a joinder of lists which will see their votes being counted collectively during tabulation.

It is the first time that such an agreement was made in Guyana’s Elections and the parties signed an agreement which details that should they collectively win a seat, they will share their time in the National Assembly by 1/3 with the party with the largest contribution nominating the first member. As of the time aforementioned, the total votes for the General Elections for the three parties stood at 472.

It is unknown yet what number of votes will constitute one seat in the National Assembly as this is determined based on the number of votes cast divided by the number of seats in the National Assembly. At the 2015 elections, one seat warranted a little over 6,000 votes based on over 400,000 votes cast from an Official List of Electors (OLE) of over 500,000. In the 2020 elections, the OLE stands at over 600,000 and

based on the number of votes cast, the number which warrants a seat can possibly be higher.

REGIONAL ELECTIONS REVIEW
Meanwhile, in the Regional Elections, on Tuesday night the votes of each party stood at: CG -311; FEDUP – 117; LJP – 227; OVP – 117; PRP – 91; TCI – 1 and URP 152. These results were processed at 18:46hrs.

Change Guyana contested in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10 and best performed – at the above-mentioned time — in Region Three. URP contested in all Regions and best performed – at the above-mentioned time – in Region Two. FEDUP only contested in Regions Five and Six while the OVP contested only in Region Four.

Meanwhile, the LJP contested in Regions One, Two, Four, Seven, Eight and Nine and best performed – at the above-mentioned time – in Region Nine. The PRP sought votes in Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and 10 and best performed – at the above-mentioned time — in Region Three.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

THE atmosphere in Region Six remains calm, almost 24 hrs after the close of polls on Monday evening. As residents eagerly await the results,
the silence and inactivity in some communities are deafening.

Most residents speaking with Guyana Chronicle have been calling for acceptance of the results as expressed by President David Granger and for calm and tranquility to prevail.

Despite schools being open, as well as businesses, most students stayed at home, while residents kept indoors and were glued to their televisions and phones to get updates.

Many business owners also experienced a slow day in terms of commerce, especially in Rose Hall Town and are calling on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to release the results as quickly as possible so that business can resume as per normal.

President of the Central Corentyne Chambers of Commerce (CCCC), Mohamed Raffik, who was part of the observer’s team representing the Private Sector Commission, stated that, from their observations in Region Six, and part of Region Five, the process for the most part was smooth, efficient and transparent.

He continued that, debarring a minor issue, the counting was a smooth and simple process at the polling stations, as the clerks were knowledgeable in their duties. He also called on the public and political parties to accept the results as declared by GECOM, so that
the country can move forward.

Raffik also expressed satisfaction with the voters’ turnout in Region Six, explaining that the number of voters has traditionally been around 60 per cent in the region. He related that generally, Region Six, unlike their business counterparts in Region Four, are not usually affected by any post-election tensions and he was hoping that there would not be any across the country as the official results are declared by the Guyana

Elections Commission.

Up to press time, no official declaration has been made by Returning Officer (RO), Savitree Mangar, for District Six. However, there were some premature celebrations by coalition supporters after the preliminary results were announced earlier in the day by GECOM
that showed the coalition in the lead from the results of 189 polling stations.

Initially, the RO was awaiting the arrival of the final SOP from a remote polling station along the Corentyne River. However, after that was added to make up the 378 polling stations in the district, the general elections tabulations were said to be completed later Tuesday afternoon.

Guyana Chronicle was told that the regional election tabulation was expected to commence later in the night.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

– says E-day process was smooth, but business community remains apprehensive

ALTHOUGH hailing the Election Day (E-Day) process, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) has expressed concern about the pace at which results are being released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Over 600,000 Guyanese were eligible to vote in the 2020 General and Regional Elections, on Monday. And, there were some 2,339 polling stations across the ten administrative regions. Nine political parties competed in the general elections and 11 in the regional elections.

Speaking particularly about the declaration of results from the regional aspect of the elections, Chairman of the PSC, Gerry Gouveia, during a press briefing on Tuesday, said the commission was disappointed that after 24 hours since the close of polls, Returning Officers (ROs) had still not declared elections results.

According to Gouveia: “We expected results by the declaration of the returning officers by now (around 17:00hrs) today (Tuesday)…we expected to have the declaration by at least the five big regions by today (Tuesday).”

The PSC commended GECOM for conducting a smooth process on Monday, but said the consistency should have continued on Tuesday.

The regional results, however, started to be declared just after 18:00hrs on Tuesday. Up to press time, there were declarations by ROs from Regions One, Two, Five, Eight and Nine.
Prior to the release of results in those areas, Gouveia said he had raised the PSC’s concerns with Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, who the PSC assumed was holding back the declarations.

“He (Lowenfield) told me that he was not interfering with the process…and that the returning officers were allowed to make their declarations,” he said.

Speaking about the suspected effects of the “late” declarations, the PSC chairman said: “The entire city is still shut down and that is not good for Guyana… the reason why the private sector is so involved in this process is particularly for our businesses to grow and for our employees…we need to do it in a stable environment where political stability and general public safety and security is paramount.

“Across the city and a lot of parts of the country, there’s an apprehension by business owners and we are actually reaching out to say to them we have confidence in the GECOM system, and hopefully will get these results very quickly.”

Source:  https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

THE People’s Progressive Party/ Civic bas re­tained rontrol of the Barima-Waini Region fol­lowing Monday’s general and regional tlections. For the regional corniponent of the elections in 

Region one, 18,952 persons were eligible to vote while 12,056 cast their ballot at 99 polling stations that were spread across the region. In a declaration of the regional results at GECOM headquarters in Mabarwna Tuesday night, Returning Officer, Trev­or Harris for the district said 3,839 voted in favour of APNU+AFC; 145 for LPJ; 7996 for PPP/C and 77 for URP. “PPP/C with 7996 is the winner of Region One.” “This is the regional component of tl1e elections. I would not be declaring the general results; that will be done by Mr. Lowenfield. He will be declaring it for the country,” Harris said. 

A total of I I political parties contested Mon­day’s elections with approximately 600,000 elec­

tors on the Official List of Electors (OLE) qualified to cast their ballots. 

Polls throughout the country closed at 18:00 hours.

Source:  https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

Dear Editor
THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) notes the release of a statement from the APNU+AFC Coalition, on March 3, 2020, urging Guyanese to remain calm and patient until the official declaration of results from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. The Party also believes that Guyanese must remain calm and go about their business in a peaceful manner, as GECOM finalizes the official results via its verification process. One worrying paragraph in the Coalition’s statement is where it claims that projections are positive for a second term in office.

We urge Guyanese not to be misled. As is characteristic of the Coalition, while appealing for calm, it is attempting to mislead our people. This action should be condemned. The Party urges Guyanese to not be misled by the APNU+AFC Coalition on the matter of official Election results. The APNU+AFC Coalition leader, David Granger, indicated just on March 2, 2020, GECOM is the only “authority” to officially and formally declare the results of Monday’s polls–yet today he has made his own declaration. The Party has informed the international Election Observer Missions about this matter and will remain engaged with stakeholders. The Party notes that GECOM’s verification is being done in the presence of several international and local Election Observer teams. The People’s Progressive Party reiterates that GECOM is the only authority to declare, officially, the results of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and we urge patience as the Elections Commission finalises its work.

Regards
People’s Progressive Party

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would have facilitated an ‘equal right to vote’ General and Regional Elections on Monday, which allowed hundreds of persons with disabilities (PWD) and the elderly to exercise their constitutional right to vote without any hassle.

According to Commissioner on the National Commission for Disability (NCD) Ganesh Singh, every person with a disability who wanted to cast their ballots was able to do so.
Singh noted that reports received from Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Five (Mahaica-Berbice); Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); and Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) would have indicated that PWDs did not encounter any challenges preventing them from voting. However, for wheelchair users, access to polling stations was a struggle. He noted that there were very few wheelchair-accessible polling stations, resulting in some persons having to be lifted upstairs.

“I have mixed feelings, because, yes, they were able to cast their ballots as citizens of Guyana, but we also got to remember that many of us were not able to cast our ballots independently; we had to depend on proxy, or we had to be accompanied by someone to do it on our behalf. But I’m glad there were not any major hiccups,” Singh told the Guyana Chronicle.

Angela Jacobis, who had her right foot amputated in late January of this year, was able to cast her vote in the comfort of her own home. The Lindener described her experience as “good”, and was happy that she got to exercise her constitutional right to vote.
Meanwhile, Jose Vanhersle, who is blind, was accompanied to the polling station by a trusted individual, who voted on his behalf.

“She (the trusted individual) asked me who I want to vote for, and I told her the symbol of the party I wanted to vote for. After placing the ‘X’, she gave me the ballot paper, and somebody placed my right hand in the ink while placing my left hand to the box that I dropped the ballot paper in,” the 88-year-old recalled.

Vanhersle also stated that the process was smooth and quick, as he was instantly attended to upon his arrival at the polling station.

Entering the Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School with a cane on Monday was 87-year-old Ester Smith, who was accompanied by a family member. Smith told this newspaper that she was offered by GECOM representatives to vote proxy, but declined the offer since it was her desire to vote for herself.

“They (GECOM) had promised that I could vote proxy, but I said no; let me come out and do what I have to do, because I rather come and do it myself,” the elderly woman said.
The Lindener noted that she got to vote very quickly, because she was seen as priority due to her age.

“The voting process was good; I went in. Well, I can’t walk properly, due to a fractured hip, so I was placed at the front of the line to vote,” Ms. Smith said. “I am happy to come out here and do what I had to do,” she added.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

…says time for electronic tabulation of results

By Svetlana Marshall
EVEN as it commended the people of Guyana for its strong democratic commitment, the Organisation of American States Electoral Observation Mission (OAS EOM) championed the cause for the voter registration system to be reformed, the restructuring of the Guyana Elections Commission, and the use of technological solutions for the tabulation of votes that would result in an early declaration of the results.

The OAS Mission, led by former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, made its assessment of the March 2 General and Regional Elections known during a press conference at the Guyana Marriott on Tuesday. “The mission applauds the people of Guyana for their patience in awaiting the results of the poll and encourages them to continue doing so. The mission looks forward to the publication of the official results at the earliest opportunity,” Golding said in his opening remarks.

One day after the close of polls, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was unable to offer preliminary results on which of the nine political parties had won the General Elections. However, it has been providing statistics based on the processed statements of poll.

TABULATION OF RESULTS
Based on the mission’s observation, Golding said Guyanese are concerned about the length of time taken to tabulate and determine the results of both the General and Regional Elections, though cognisant of the challenges GECOM faces as a result of the country’s geographical layout and the employ of a manual tabulation system.

“Guyana’s largely manual electoral system requires the transportation of electoral materials, including the statements of polls, by land, water and air to the Returning Officers in each of the 10 Regions and to the Chief Elections Officer in Georgetown, in order to facilitate the tabulation, verification and declaration of the results of the elections,” Golding noted. It was further noted that the only area of automation in the counting process occurs at the CEO’s office where a computer application supports the tabulation of there results.
At such, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission made a strong case for enhanced technological solutions to be employed for the collection and transmission of images of the statements of poll and collated results from the various regions.

“The Guyana Elections Commission should consider implementing a system to issue preliminary results for national elections, in order to make this information available on Elections Day or on the morning thereafter. This would include establishment of a central computerised results receiving centre, where election results summaries are periodically sent via secure telecommunication lines from each of the 10 Regions across the country to the Chief Elections Officer. Scanned statements of poll can be sent to the CEO simultaneously to be published alongside the digitised electoral results,” the Chief of Mission recommended. Official tabulated elections results, Golding further submitted, should be available online through GECOM’s website. Notably, GECOM has such a system in place; however, hours after the close of polls, it had experienced some technical problems. Nonetheless, it is believed that such an online system would result in a faster and simultaneous transmission of results to a wide audience. Article 99 of the Representation of the People Act provides for the declaration of elections results within 15 days.

RESTRUCTURING OF GECOM
The OAS Electoral Observation Mission, in its menu of recommendations, called for the restructuring of GECOM. The Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2000 paves the way for the appointment of six members of the commission – three appointed by the President and another three appointed by the opposition based on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition. The Chairman of the Elections is appointed by the President from a list of six nominees proposed by the Leader of the Opposition. However, Golding told journalists that the existing formula is a recipe for division.

“The mission observed the polarisation among the members of the Guyana Elections Commission and the challenges this created in arriving at consensus on most issues. The divisions appear to exert undue pressure on the chairperson and the use of his or her casting vote to resolve decisions before the commission,” Golding explained.
This was the case in February 2019 when the then Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, had used his casting vote to support a motion for the conduct of house-to-house registration. Justice Patterson had come in for major criticisms from the opposing side.

Cognisant of the prevailing challenges, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission is recommending that Guyana engages in a multi-stakeholder discussion on the structure of GECOM in an effort to enhance the “deliberative nature and decision-making of the Commission.”

REFORM OF VOTER EDUCATION
Added to that, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission made a case for a comprehensive reform of the voter registration system on the basis that the National Register of Registrants Data Base and the Official List of Electors (OLE) are bloated. The current OLE has a total of 660,998 names, which is considered to be relatively high when the country’s population of 750,000 people is considered. “In explaining the reasons for the bloating of the list, the Guyana Elections Commission noted that it includes the names of persons who are dead or who no longer reside in Guyana. GECOM currently has no means of cleaning the list, save through the constitutional provisions for removal (a registered death, certified insanity or election offence) or through the claims and objections period.

Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that it would be unconstitutional to remove Guyanese from the National Register of Registrants Database even if there are not present in Guyana at the time of a house-to-house registration, however, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission believed that electoral reform can produce a more accurate list.

“Comprehensive reform of the voter registration system, along with the necessary legislative authorisation for registration, changes to voter lists and submission of complaints about the exclusion or inclusion of voters,” Golding said while underscoring the need for house-to-house registration to be conducted as the earliest possible time. According to him, such exercise should be periodically conducted to cleanse the list.
The OAS Mission had arrived in Guyana on February 20 and comprised a total of 17 international observers from 12 countries, including specialists in the electoral registries, electoral organisation, electoral technology, electoral justice, campaign finance and the political participation of women.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

Dear all
I was retained to represent Sameer Bacchus and Paul Persaud in relation to an incident that occurred at the St. Ambrose Primary School, where it seems to be alleged that an offence was committed involving ballot boxes used in the 2020 General Elections.

At this juncture I must emphasise the fact that it was reported in the media, that, no less a person than the Commander of ‘A’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, has stated that there is no evidence that the  detainees were involved in any such actions. Nonetheless, they were being detained, so I journeyed to the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, Camp Road, at about 11:32 pm on the 2nd March, 2020, in an effort to see my clients. When I arrived I told several officers the reason for my visit and I was told by a guard at the gate that a Sergeant Fraser told him that I had to wait until they received a call from ‘upstairs.’ I made several other attempts, over a two-hour period, to engage the police, but my efforts were to no avail. I made calls to high-ranking police officials and they all told me that they could not render assistance and that the crime chief was in charge of the matter; I left the station without the clients having the opportunity to meet with me.

Now, it is enshrined in our laws that every person has the right to consult with his or her lawyer and the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF’s) reluctance to have my clients enjoy their rights to have access to their lawyer violates the requirement of the persons’ fundamental constitutional rights. As I understand it, that right arises immediately upon detention, so no excuse can be given by the GPF unless my meeting my clients would have impeded their investigation; and even if that were the case, no police officer had the courtesy of giving me an explanation or a time frame to work with.

These actions by the GPF amount to nothing short of executive misconduct on a matter of prime importance to the administration of justice. My clients were denied the privilege of having a lawyer explain to them what they are to expect at every stage of the criminal process and I am unable to ensure that their constitutional rights are not being violated by law enforcement. Are we now part of a police state?

It is not the first time that I am encountering these challenges and I am afraid that if nothing is done by those in charge, the breaches of our constitutional rights will become customary; we are already well on our way. The GPF is supposed to be one of the protectors of these rights, not the ones who violate them. Hopefully, the commissioner of police sees this letter and allows my clients to benefit from my advice, or I would have no choice but resort to move to the courts for redress.

Regards
Everton Singh-Lammy
Attorney-at-law

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020

WE have editorialised before on the role of the people in the management and decision-making processes of the State, as outlined in Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution.

This article is the people’s sword and shield and cannot only be used to demand the people’s involvement from their government, but also protection against governments that want to exclude them. The purpose of our political system, as written in the article, outlines that “The principal objective of the system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens and their organisations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”
This article which came out of the constitutional reform process was arrived at given that it was felt, among other things, that “measures and arrangements for the improvement of race relations in Guyana include the contribution which equal-opportunities legislation and concepts drawn from the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society can contribute to the cause of justice, equity and progress in Guyana.”

Where its conceptualisation has its genesis in the dissatisfaction at the outcome of the 1997 elections by the then opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) and, more importantly, the fear and/or frustration of a significant segment of the population living under the administration of a party they had not supported to form the government, gives greater credence to make it work, regardless of who is in government. There is no intention to argue the merits or demerits, validity or invalidity of these views, save to say that civility requires that where such fears, real or perceived, are expressed, they are worthy of being addressed.

For years, the society has been told — and some have come to accept — that ours is a winner-takes-all politics, whereby the party which has not secured the Executive, and its supporters, are denied. Whether this has merit or not is not the intent or attention save to say where Article 13 requires involvement, it must be allowed to work. For this article lays the platform, via the nation’s supreme law, to establish and foster a political solution built on the involvement of all, irrespective of our diversity, but inclusive of the political party supported.

Government’s social-cohesion push suggests that inclusionary democracy can be activated in its fullest and become the fillip in the process of nation-building. This means that the preference, harboured in certain quarters, to foster a politics of dissent or of “our time” does not negate, or should not obscure, the overwhelming desire of the ordinary man and woman to proceed on the road of inclusion. Whichever way it is looked at, a diverse nation stands to gain more when all feel that their voices are heard, their opinions and inputs valued, their choice of representatives respected, and their taxes invested in them, irrespective of political or apolitical interests.

It need not be forgotten, amidst the conversations about the constitution and its amendments, from which Article 13 and the presidential term limit flowed, were the result of the people’s involvement. These amendments were conceptualised and developed across the political divide and inclusive of the apolitical, done in congenial and consensual atmosphere, that not only saw large participation, but also trust. Guyanese were led to believe by their political leadership, on both sides of the aisle, that a person can serve not more than two terms as president, yet we saw the machinations of a few with scurrilous political agendas, on a matter that was settled more than a decade ago by unanimous national and parliamentary support. Few, if any, relish living in a nation constantly wracked by divisions, conflicts, and acrimony, under the fear that the law will protect some and not all, and all are not subject to the same law. This is not a healthy relationship in building social cohesion and as was stated we, the people, are moulders of our destiny. It is a destiny worthwhile moulding, where all will live in peace and harmony.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e_paper_03_04_2020