A PEOPLE’s Progressive Party (PPP) protester at Cotton Tree Public Road, West Coast Berbice (WCB), was shot dead by police after he was seen chopping two other policemen who fled after their ammunition was finished while trying to disperse party supporters angered at the declaration of results for Region Four before verification.
Dead is Sewdat Hansraj, 18, of Cotton Tree Village, WCB.

According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), at about 19:40hrs on March 6, 2020, police ranks while performing duty on the Cotton Tree Public Road, WCB, came under attack by protesters which resulted in several ranks being hospitalised and their attacker dead.

Enquiries revealed that shortly before the attack, a gazetted officer and ranks cleared the said road of protesters and debris, leaving Sergeant Ibaran with several ranks to maintain free passage along the corridor
“The ranks were then attacked by a group of men armed with cutlasses, wood, iron, etc and were forced to discharge their weapons into the air to disperse the very hostile and aggressive crowd and after expending their ammunition, the ranks including Sergeant Ibaran, Corporal Williams, Constable Grant, and Constable Fraser were forced to seek refuge in nearby yards and during that process, it was alleged that one of the protesters who was later identified as Seedat ‘Devon’ Hansraj, 18 years, unemployed of Back Street Cotton Tree Village, WCB, chopped Sgt Ibaran and Constable Fraser and as he was attempting to deal the latter another chop, was shot once by one of two ranks who arrived at the scene and witnessed their colleagues being attacked and wounded,” the GPF said.
Sewdat Hansraj and the injured ranks (Sergeant Ibaran and Constable Fraser) and Constable Grant who was reportedly assaulted by protesters were rushed to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.

Hansraj was pronounced dead on arrival while the ranks received medical attention and were admitted. Their condition has been listed as stable.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

MINISTER within the Ministry of the Presidency with responsibility for youth affairs, Simona Broomes, on Saturday, visited the four school children and two police officers who were injured on Friday, following protests at Bath Settlement West Coast Berbice.

The Minister of Youth Affairs stopped at several homes along the West Coast of Berbice where the children and their parents reside. Among them was 14-year-old, Orissa Noble. Noble was among several students returning from school on a David ‘G’ School bus plying the route along the West Coast Berbice Public Road when disgruntled protestors threw glass bottles and other objects at the bus.

The Fort Wellington Secondary School student told the minister she never expected the bus to come under attack and was traumatised.  “I don’t want to remember what happened yesterday,” Orissa said.

Moriah Jaque, another student in the bus, remembered hiding under the seat and fainting. “We are innocent. No child in Guyana should go through this,” she shakenly recalled. Reon Mobb also of Fort Wellington Secondary School suffered a gash to his head after a glass or glass bottle, he believed, struck his head. By the time he sought to secure himself, he realised he was already bleeding.

He recounted, “I looked at my colleagues running under the seat to hide. If they did not get under the seat to hide, so many things would have happened.” Christopher Srikishun of Blairmont, Jaguar Philander of Ithaca Village and Beyoncé Noble of Belladrum were also students on board who received visits from Minister Broomes. After visiting homes of the children, the minister noted that the actions of the protesters have been condemned. “You have children … why would you attack a bus carrying children? They should be ashamed,” she said
Sergeant Punit Nauth Ibaran of the Blairmont Police Station was one of the officers injured when the ranks attempted to quell the protests. He was visited by the minister at the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital where he is currently recovering. Ibaran said he was doing his job which is to provide service and protection. Instead, he was met with a slew of insults and was then attacked, “I am a police officer to serve and protect. But they felt that I am against them,” he said.

Region Five Commander, Yonnett Stephen, who accompanied the minister granted Sergeant Ibaran’s request to be transferred. Also visited by Minister Broomes  was Tissie Wallerson, a Riot Unit officer on Number 30 village, West Coast Berbice. Wallerson is recovering from a severe injury to her foot after trying to flee the crowd. (DPI)

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

….say police sergeant who was brutally beaten and chopped by PPP protesters 

By Nafeez.a Y:ahya 

POLICE Sergeant, Punit lbaran, 42, of East Berbice Corentyne and stationed at the Blairmont Police Station in West Berbice, is thankful for being alive following a life-threatening experience with protesters in the village of Cotton Tree Friday evening.

lbaran and a group of his fellow law1nen were at­tacked by an unruly mob of PPP supporters that left him with both his arms broken, a chop wound to the back of his head, a chop wound to his arm, a cut to the ear as well as several bruises and lacerations ab-0ut the body. Speaking from his bed in the New Amsterdan1 Hospital, Sergeant lbaran told the Guyana Chronicle that he was on duty as was all the other ranks trying to maintain law and order, when the angry 

mob turned their attention to 

the police and started a brutal onslaught on the lawmen with cutlasses and other mis­siles that were hurled at them. 

This, he said started on the public road and he along wtth others ran into the streets hoping to seek refuge in the yards of residents, but the mob followed him and started to hit him about the body with 

cutlasses, iron bars and pieces of wood. lbaran who Joined the force some 25 years ago, related that he and the other ranks were unarmed at tl1e time and were at the mercy of the mob that dealt them “tremendous blows”. 

DRUNK PROTESTERS

“They were drinking and started to behave lawlessly and started to attack us, we ran and jumped over fences to escape them but they followed and started to broad­side and chop me. We were unarmed and all we could do was block with our hands and try to avoid being hit in the head … I thought I was going to die and they suddenly left me and turned to someone else and I begged a man to let me in his yard or they were going to kill me.” 

The father of two contin­ued, stating that he hid in the yard, praying aid trying to bear the excruciating pams about his body, until the mob left. He finally came out bloodied, and saw a detective passing that he shouted out to. The rank and a public citizen took him on a bicycle to his car which was parked nearby and eventually to the hospital along with other injured ranks and a protester. 

Reflecting on the event of tile day, he described the scene as one of”la,,1essness” where the protestors were uncontrollable and setting  alight pretty much everything  insight while using botties, bricks and any piece of debris as missiles to attack the police and others including students, nurses and even members of the media. 

In the aftermatl1, two other officers were seriously injured: Roy Grant and Jefta Fraser, both traffic officers from Division Five, while three students were treated and sent away after the pro­testors attacked a David ‘G’ school bus they were in. A protestor was shot dead by police as he was attacking and chopping an unarmed rank in a street that was trying to get to safety. The two 

traffic ranks were treated and discharged a little after noon on Saturday, while lbaran remains hospitalised. 

Meanwhile, there were three ranks in East Berbice Corentyne, includ­ing Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and a sergeant, who suffered a fractured foot while the constable received inju­ries after Ile was stoned by protesters at Tain. Both ranks bad to seek medical attention. The injured lawmen and students were visited by Minister of Youth Affairs Simona Broomes; Deputy Police Commis­sioner, Maxint Graham; Division Six Commander, Calvin Brutus, and Division Five Commander, Yonette Stephtns. On Saturday, a number of lbaran’s col­leagues also paid a visit to show solidarity and offer comfort. A stranger, who was visiting a relative in the said ward, after realising that the injured sergeant was in the ward, went over to him and! thanked him for bis service as well as wish­ing him a speedy recovery. On Saturday, communities along tbt Corentyne Coast were calm as majority of stores opened for business.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

Dear Editor
THE events that have unfolded over the past four days at GECOM is nothing short of an assault on Guyana’s democracy and sovereignty. It is tantamount to treason that the People’s Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, general-secretary and accompanied by men with guns barged into GECOM in the wee hours of the morning. On March 4, 2020, at approximately 2:30am, the presidential candidate of the PPP, accompanied by several representatives on the party’s list of candidates and men with guns, descended on the GECOM Command Centre on Hadfield Street and Avenue of the Republic.

Following this, during the afternoon hours of March 5th, 2020, representatives and candidates of the PPP again accompanied by men with guns barged into the GECOM Command Centre while the results for Region Four were being counted. There are pictures and video evidence showing exactly what transpired. On both occasions GECOM staff and leadership were threatened with violence. In the case of the early-morning assault on the Command Centre, an official involved in the counting of votes for Region Four was threatened. Added to this, GECOM’s Chairperson was also threatened and falsely imprisoned in her office on the afternoon of March 5, 2020.

Undoubtedly, these attacks are by design and orchestrated in no short measure by Mercury Public Affairs, the same company that Donald Trump used to suppress and influence the votes of minority groups in the USA, in particular African Americans, and to undermine the integrity of the electoral process there as well; recall the Russian meddling in the 2016 elections in the USA. The U.S. State Department noted that the Russian Government interfered in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election with the goal of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump and increasing political and social discord in the United States. There are several illegalities that took place on March 4 and 5, 2020. These are but a few that have been noted. Never in the history of Guyana have we seen a political party descend to such depravity and criminality against the State. I do hope the international community, CARICOM, as well the component authorities are paying keen attention.

Regards
R. Chung-A-On

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

-as NGOs, Catholic Bishop condemn violence, call for peace

NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisations (NGOs), social activists and even the Roman Catholic Bishop, Francis Alleyne, have called on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to fulfill their “legal and statutory” obligations to ensure that a transparent and credible electoral process is held.

Over 600,000 Guyanese were eligible to vote in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections on Monday and there were some 2,339 polling stations across the 10 administrative regions. Nine political parties contested the general elections and 11 in the regional elections.

There has since been civil unrest and political tension following the declaration of results for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), on Thursday, by the region’s Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo. According to those results, the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Chance (APNU+AFC) Coalition received 136,458 votes and the PPP/C received 77,329 votes.

NGOs such as Read Thread, Child Link, Help and Shelter and a number of social activists including Vidyaratha Kissoon; Akola Thompson; Krysta Bisnauth; Vanda Radzik; Abbyssinian Carto; and Sabine Mcintosh among others, have jointly called for GECOM to conduct a transparent and credible process for counting, recounting and verifying all votes.
“We urge that all relevant processes as set out in the Representation of the People’s Act be carried out in the presence of accredited national, regional and international observers. We condemn in the strongest terms any and all attempts to undermine the electoral process in Guyana,” said the organisations and activists in a joint press statement.

They said Guyanese have fought and struggled for too long to have their fundamental rights to free and fair elections and elections free from fear, “trampled on” in 2020.
“We are alarmed at the acts of intimidation, the threats, and verbal attacks including sexual threats to women and girls, the physical violence, the reports of property invasion by groups, attacks on police officers and schoolchildren and ethnicity-based attacks being reported in several communities,” said the stakeholders, adding that recent reports of the loss of life of one young person, points to escalating violence which must cease immediately.

The stakeholders further said: “We condemn and call on all Guyanese to condemn and refrain from all racial and ethnic slurs and actions, to respect the rule of law and keep the peace. We call on all political parties to abstain from provocative statements, ensure that their supporters do not violate the fundamental rights of any citizen and keep all protest action free from any kind of violence or intimidation.

“We call on the police and security forces to protect the rights of ALL Guyanese and carry out their duties without bias in accordance with the laws of Guyana.”

They called on Guyanese of all ethnicities and from all regions, to resist attempts to promote violence and hostility and to allow the Guyana Police Force to perform its duties. The stakeholders said history has shown, that it is always women, children and the vulnerable, particularly poor women and children, who are most affected when ethnic hostility and violence flare up. “People are dying, people are being wounded, children are being traumatized, property is being destroyed, and the nation is gripped in fear. This is much too high a cost for a national election and for a nation at any time. There are no words strong enough to express the gravity of the situation and the urgency for it to end,” said Bishop Alleyne in a separate statement.

To all accounts, he believes that the way forward for the restoration of peace and hope rests with a small group of persons who have been tasked with managing the whole election process.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

Dear Editor
EVIDENTLY, GECOM did not seek to deny a credible and transparent process. It was violently interrupted in its effort to complete same. Guyana is a country governed by laws which empower GECOM to conduct electoral proceedings without interference by internal and /or external forces (invited or uninvited) disrupting the smooth flow and conclusion of this process.

The Laws of Guyana, Representation of the People Act (Cap 1:03), Section 84 (1) ‘Counting of votes polled’ expressly states: “As soon as practicable after the receipt of all ballot boxes and the envelopes and packets delivered to him in presence of section  83(10), the Returning Officer shall, in the presence of such persons entailed under section 86(1) to be present as attend, ascertain the total votes cast in favour of each list in the district by adding up the votes recorded in favour of the list in accordance with the Statements of Poll, and thereupon publicly declare the votes recorded for each list of candidates.”
86(1) ‘Attendance at count’ expressly states, “No person shall be present at the counting of the votes except-
(a)   The returning officer and such other election officers as he may appoint to assist him in the counting;
(b)   members of the Commission;
(c)   duly appointed candidates;
(d)   counting agents;
(e)   such other person as, in the opinion of the returning officer, have [sic] good reason to be present.”

Claims by members of the opposition that they want Statements of Poll (SoP) to be counted in their presence at the national tabulation process is not in keeping with the extant Act which has been in effect under the PPP government since 25th September 1964 and has had amendments over the years. They are asking the Returning Officer (RO) to do what the Act has not asked of him and are seemingly supported  by an international observer group whom they have been able to convince that they have a just claim  of attempts by GECOM to thwart the will of the people.

What has transpired over the past days with an invasion of GECOM, acts of violence, physical attack on law enforcement, damage to property,  a most heinous assault on school buses transporting young children to and from schools, and followed by erroneous statements made by sections of the international observer group is cause for serious concern and deserving of widespread condemnation.

When combined, these behaviours (responses and non-responses) overshadow the goodwill expected from the international community to not only be impartial and professional, but not to be suckered in by misinformation peddled by some disinterested in upholding the law as its stands. The result of this is a vengeful effort to sway public opinion to undermine the credibility of GECOM, sow public terror and confusion to effectively derail the process from reaching a credible conclusion and announcement of which party will form the next government of Guyana.  It is clear that an attack has been unleashed on our democratic process and our national sovereignty is being compromised by foreigners seeking to dictate our responses outside of the law even as attempts are made to confuse the electoral process for public consumption.  This is a serious violation of our sovereignty supported by persons Guyana has invited here to observe and freely comment on the process at completion, not rewrite our law as part of the process.

Any concern could be noted in the report as recommendation(s) to be best addressed through legal amendments of the Act for future elections.

The intent to disrupt became evident after the opposition condemned the spreadsheet tabulation of SoPs for Region Four, citing transcription irregularities.  To ensure credibility  GECOM CEO Keith Lowenfield suggested an administrative  mechanism where all can bring their statements and do the verification, and “If, at the end of the day, that doesn’t work, the CEO will be involved with his statement to have a resolution to the issue” (Demerara Waves, March 4, 2020- GECOM resolves vote padding concerns, resume verification on Region Four).

The suggested corrective administrative process (i.e. counting of the SoPs) was however not allowed to be implemented because an environment which was volatile deteriorated to the extent that GECOM could no longer continue the process of verification. It was in this environment the RO declared preliminary results consistent with Section 84(1) as per “votes recorded for each list of candidates.” The international community was present to observe but later failed to pronounce on the disruption as a threat to GECOM and the democratic process.

Specific international observers and others, fully armed with opposition ‘facts,’ chose to publicly pronounce on what  GECOM’s/Guyana Government’s  next move ought  to be   whilst remaining silent  on  the opposition’s behaviour which sought to stymie the  process through  intimidation and disruptions. That the pronouncements made by these observers was used to further the opposition’s agenda has not gone unnoticed by Guyanese seeking clear and credible results of their voting efforts.

All sections of Guyana, all groups are entitled to have this process conducted by GECOM and GECOM only without interference.  Any dissatisfied party has the means of peaceful resolution using the judicial system which allows any and all parties to seek recourse to the highest Caribbean Court of Appeal.

Notably,  the government has also requested a recount of Region Three votes which that  RO admitted denying, saying that the request did not come from the counting agent, a charge denied by the government (Guyana Chronicle, March 7, 2020 ‘RO denies coalition’s request for recount on Region Three’)
Those who seek to derail this process through public opinion must know that democracy is not merely about the right to freedom of speech, but also the responsibility of speech;  the right of all, that includes GECOM to carry out duties unhindered,  and the right of all to  due process in a court of law. The process must be continued, consistent with the extant Act, regardless of who likes the law or not and let the chips fall where they may.

We are witnessing the effect of a misinformation campaign on the nation’s political fabric. The international community must seek not to further reward such disruption but must instead encourage peaceful resolution guided by the Laws of Guyana.  The regional and international law-abiding communities are being called on to stand with Guyana at this point in time when our democracy is under threat and our sovereignty at risk as GECOM seeks to operate within the confines of the Representation of the People Act. No more and no less is requested of you.

Lincoln Lewis
General-Secretary
Guyana Trades Union Congress

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

…chief elections officer writes chair for meeting before declaration

Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield has prepared the final report of last week’s general and regional elections and has invited the commission to meet to discuss it before a declaration is made.

Sase Gunraj a PPP commissioner at GECOM released an email sent to commissioners by Lowenfield on the issue. The email was addressed to the chair of the commission, Justice Claudette Singh and copied to all Commissioners of GECOM. It reads “Dear Madam Chair, I have received declarations from Returning Officers for General and Regional Elections 2020 from Districts 1 – 10. In accordance with Cap 1: 03 Section 99, I have prepared the final report for submission to the Commission. In this regard, a request is made for a meeting of the Commission at your earliest convenience.”

Campaign Manager of the APNU+AFC, Joseph Harmon said on Friday that the numbers show clearly that the APNU+AFC are well ahead of any of the other political parties following the elections. He said the next step should be for a declaration to be made by the Chief Elections Officer, followed by a meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and confirmation of the results by the commission. Thereafter, the chair of GECOM sends a statement to the Chancellor of the Judiciary who will act to have the President sworn in.
He said the Commission should have met on Friday to conclude the process when the PPP/C served an injunction on it. Harmon said the Chair of the Commission, Retired Justice Claudette Singh decided she will follow what the court says, and agreed that the procedure for swearing-in will be put on hold and the parties will go to court this morning where the injunction will be heard. He said the APNU+AFC expects the situation to be treated with some amount of speed. The total results declared by Returning Officers (ROs) for all 10 Administrative Regions in the Regional Elections show that the coalition government has won the elections by over 7,600 votes. With Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) being the last set of results to be declared, APNU+AFC jumped ahead on Thursday with 237,140 votes to the PPP’s 229,450.
The long-awaited results for the single outstanding Region was declared on Thursday, indicating that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) gained 77,258 votes in Region Four, while the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) gained 136,335. This represents a 59,097 lead in the Region, which is known to be an APNU+AFC stronghold.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

DEAR EDITOR, 

MANY persons, including the inter­national community, are saying that the respective Returning Officers of the electoral districts, except District Four, bad verified their declared results by comparing their Statements of Poll with the copies of the respective political parties’ Statements of Poll. I wish to say categorically that this is untrue. 

I am a candidate for the APNU+AFC political movement and was deeply in­volved in the election process. I wish to state exactly what occurred as it relates to the declaration of District Three Gen­eral and Regional elections results. 

To begin with, at approximately 02:00hrs, Tuesday, March 3, myself along with three other candidates from the APNU+AFC went to the Pouderoyen tarmac on the West Bank of Demer­ara where we examined and verified ballot boxes in the presence of  GECOM staff and PPP/C representatives. At the end of that exercise, the container was locked with padlocks from GECOM, PPP/C and the APNU+AFC. We then proceeded to the office of the Return­ing Officer which is located al Novelle Flanders on the West Coast of Demerara next to the recently constructed state­of-the-art Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission Region Three Office. 

Upon our arrival, the PPP/C repre­sentatives were already seated and so too were the observers (local and inter­national). A lady whom I don’t know assembled a table with three chairs and said only three of us are allowed to sit there. My fourth comrade sat with the observers. The Returning Officer after about 20 minutes or so said that he is ready to start the announcement of results and subsequent declaration. I vividly r,emember him saying ‘an­nouncement’ and not ‘verification.’ He then started to call out numbers for the respective ballot boxes. My colleagues and I then noticed that on the walls of the office was a blown-up spreadsheet and we assumed it was for recording the nw11bers he was calling, so Mr. John Adams who was sitting with me inter­jected while he was calling and request­ed a miniature of the spreadsheet that was mounted on the wall. The Returning Officer stopped calling numbers and proceeded to print the spreadsheet. At this point the PPP/C reps also requested same. It took the Returning Officer about 15 minutes to get the spreadsheet. His excuse was that the printer was slow. The observers were not in receipt of the spreadsheet. They only enjoyed 

the lu::..’lllY of listening to the voice of 

the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer recommenced calling numbers for ballot boxes from the beginning and I started to record the numbers on the spreadsheet. 

At the end of this process, the Re­turning Officer made his declaration without the APNU+AFC verifying those numbers with their copy of the State­ments of Poll. I highly doubt the PPP/C had the chance of verifying the results, but I guess they accepted it on the basis that the tabulated numbers favoured them. His declaration was ANUG 310 votes, APNU+AFC 23 811 votes, CG 318 votes, PPP/C 4 7 855 votes, TCI 80 votes, TNM 56 votes and URP 4 3 votes. He further said that the number of valid votes for all parties lists of candidates was 72 608, number of spoilt ballot papers 125, number of destroyed ballot papers nine and total number of tendered ballots five. He called out some other

numbers. 

Editor, I have chronicled this to make the point that District 1l1ree Gen­eral and Regional Elections results were never verified and declared by examin­ing the Statements of Poll by Statements of Poll. It was only the Returning Offi­cer who was calling numbers and the party candidates/agents were recording on a spreadsheet. It is a figment of one’s imagination to say otherwise and I find it strange that our friends from the in­ternational community have not yet said anything, given that the perception is out there that all other regions declared their results lby examining SOPs by SOPs. May I add that I made contact with my Region Two colleague and he said to me that the very way the declaration was done in Region Three is the way it was done in his region. 

Notwithstanding the already de­clared results, we from the APNU+AFC side went back to our operation centre and cross-examined the numbers called out by tlhe Returning Officer with those on our SOPs. We recognised discrepan­cies and began the process of requesting a recount which is catered for. I am guided that our request was denied and I cannot assume why. 

Editor, I must say that the Rt­turning Oflictr maintained that only three political persons per sidt wtre allowed to sit at the respective tahlts, not 25. I trust that ptrsons will now understand that not all the districts did it the way they are saying it was done.

Yours faithfully, 

Ganesh Mahipaul 

APNU+AFC candidate

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

LAST week I was full of confidence when I wrote that the APNU+AFC coalition was heading for a Triple Crown, having taken majority votes in two previous elections – 2011 and 2015.
On March 2 everything seemed to have gone well, and everyone was hailing our national and regional elections as nothing but free and fair, and free from fear. Except for a few requests for recounts, polling and declaration of results in nine out of the ten electoral districts were free from any major hiccups.

At that point, the preliminary results showed that the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had a handsome lead. Those results also showed that the PPP/C had repeated its 2015 performance by winning six of the Regional Democratic Councils.

REGION 4 VOTES
By that time no declaration was made of the votes in Region 4, which has the single largest number of electors, and spans the vast geographical area between Mahaica and Timehri, and includes the capital, Georgetown.

This Region has always favoured the People’s National Congress (PNC), which is the major force in the six-party A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC). It was anticipated that when the results were in, APNU+AFC would comfortably over-take the PPP/C’s lead, and would go on to win the 2020 elections with a slim majority. But certain administrative humbugs were delaying this process.

Then someone dramatically disclosed that the PPP/C had claimed victory. Its backers in Trinidad were popping champagne on the basis of that leak. What happened next was a calculated campaign by the PPP to sabotage the verification and announcement of polling statistics by the Region 4 Returning Officer. The PPP unlawfully occupied the Region 4 Command Centre, and intimidated and threatened staffers.

With disclosures that “the Russians were here”, three of whom were arrested and deported after they were found with “cyber” equipment, news quickly spread that someone was accosted in the Command Centre for suspiciously having in his possession a flash-drive and a computer. The inference was clear: GECOM’s command centre was being hacked!

VIRTUAL DURESS
For two continuous days the PPP occupied the Centre as the Returning Officer tried to ascertain the total votes cast for each of the contesting parties in his District by adding the numbers from the Statements of Poll (SOPs).

It might have appeared to the Returning Officer that there were no material errors in those SOPs, and he received and admitted them as credible. In a situation of virtual duress, he subsequently declared inter alia that the APNU+AFC won 136,458 votes and the PPP/C 77,329.

With an anticipated increase in the number of electors in East Demerara, those numbers were not spectacular, compared to 2015 when the APNU+AFC polled 113,856 votes as against 70,241 for the PPP/C.

Overall, when the Region 4 votes were factored in, it showed that in the 2020 elections 473,352 persons voted, as against 412,012 in 2015. From those numbers, the APNU+AFC polled 237,004 votes and the PPP/C 229,344, which gives the former a narrow lead of 7,660 votes.

Again, it was a narrow margin as in 2015. And when computed, the unofficial projection is that the Coalition would again have a one-seat majority in the National Assembly.

MANDATORY INJUNCTIONS
At that point the PPP/C obtained mandatory injunctions against the Region 4 Returning Officer and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). In effect the court orders would prevent GECOM from advancing and completing the electoral process. That would fly in the face of the constitutional mandate of GECOM to control and supervise national elections.
Hearing into the PPP’s application took place yesterday before the Chief Justice, who will give her decision later today.

The announcement of the Region 4 results was an occasion for the PPP to declare war on GECOM. It organized and financed protests that were intended to be violent. Roads were blocked, and set on fire. Commuters were attacked, including in one instance innocent children in their school bus and in another, a traumatized nurse going home from work. Police ranks were stoned, and they were forced to retreat under hot pursuit. Then, on Friday evening when ranks were attacked and wounded, one protester was shot. The Opposition had won its first “pro-democracy martyr”.

POLITICAL SOLUTION
Those unlawful activities, in an ethnically-charged situation, were tantamount to pouring fuel on fire. But this situation does not require an outcome through terrorism, arson, violence and civil conflicts.

Today as I write, our governance system, which rests shakily on winner-takes-all is mired in crisis. Winner-takes-all has exhausted its potential to bring about political reconciliation, much less healing of our ethnic wounds. Given political will, this situation opens the door to a peaceful and inclusive national solution.

Last week I had this to say:
“This is my 12th elections, and I am not worried about the outcome. I would be worried though if the losers were to see the results only as a defeat, and not as a challenge to rise above partisan, ethnic-driven obsession for power.
“The post-election agenda must include inclusive politics, and bi-partisan cooperation to achieve in Guyana genuine national unity. Towards that strategic goal, I re-commit myself”.

PRECIPITOUS STATEMENTS
From my contact with them, I know that regional and international observers and certain envoys who were accredited for these elections are all acutely aware of the potential for ethnic fragmentation and social implosion in Guyana. For this reason, it is unfortunate that they have made apparent precipitous statements about “fraud” that could fuel the fury in Guyana.

If there is any such fraud, then our friends should encourage recourse to peaceful, legal and constitutional remedies. But the Opposition has taken the pronouncements of observers and envoys to the streets, and they are boasting at the barricades: “THEY” are on OUR side!

This is the time for restraint and responsibility on all sides. It may be too late to pull back from the precipice, but we have a duty to try. We should try to talk our way out of what I fear would be, from what we have all seen so far, an unprecedented period of social turmoil.

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020

-PM Mottley says stakeholders must work together to achieve peaceful, lawful completion of electoral process

AMDIST growing concerns and tension over the 2020 General and Regional Elections, Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has said the community stands ready to facilitate dialogue between Guyana’s main political leaders and take other necessary actions to aid in the process.

“I have spoken to both the President and the leader of the opposition and indicated that CARICOM stands ready to be able to be there to facilitate further dialogue and any actions that are necessary,” said Mottley in a press statement on Saturday.
According to Mottley, CARICOM has done this on many occasions in the past, including in Guyana, when elections have been highly contentious and when social order and the rule of law has been threatened across the Region.

Speaking more about CARICOM’s willingness, she said: “We are family and this is what happens when there are disputes in families. We will work together to create the space for dialogue and resolution once there is an acceptance on the part of all parties that there is a higher interest beyond simply the result in this election.”
Over 600,000 Guyanese were eligible to vote in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections on Monday and there were some 2,339 polling stations across the 10 administrative regions. Nine political parties contested the general elections and 11, the regional elections.

There has since been civil unrest and political tension following the declaration of results for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), on Thursday, by the region’s Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo. According to those results, the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Chance (APNU+AFC) Coalition received 136,458 votes and the PPP/C received 77,329 votes.

“The Caribbean Community calls on the electoral officials in Guyana and the representative political parties to work together to achieve a peaceful and lawful completion of the electoral process in Guyana by ensuring the tabulation of the results in all regions using the Statements of polls in a transparent manner in the presence of the representatives of the political parties and the electoral observers,” said Mottley, noting that every vote must be made to count; and transparently so.

The CARICOM Chair has noted that all sides of the political divide have been making “serious allegations” against each other, but believes that it is critical that good sense prevails.

“The preservation of law and order is paramount and all parties must work hard to ensure that there is peace on the roads and in the communities across Guyana. There has already been one death reported overnight (Friday). That is one death too many,” Mottley asserted.
In breaking her message down further, she said: “In simple language, we ask the parties to recognise that the primary consideration must not only be who will be President but, more so, who will be alive come next week or next month, for there cannot be a tolerance for any further loss of life.”

CARICOM had issued a statement on Thursday night and one was also issued from the Chief of the independent CARICOM Electoral Observation team, Cynthia Combie-Martyr, on Friday. And, both statements called on GECOM to complete the electoral process. 

Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_3-8-2020