Mar 19, 2020 News
Elections 2020 is continuing to bring out harsh words from the divide with former army chief, Major General (Ret’d), Joseph Singh, yesterday urging incumbent president, David Granger, to call off the ‘Dogs of War’.
In an open letter, Singh, also a former chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), acknowledged that he is placing his neck on the line.
Singh believes that Granger appears to be manipulated by persons who do not have the best interests of Guyana at heart and who are prepared to hold him hostage to achieve their own personal and collective goals.
Singh’s comments would come after a CARICOM-led team that came here to supervise recounting of ballots, was forced to leave in the latest twist of events…the granting of several injunctions.
Singh said a few persons are unbothered by the “catastrophic impact their actions to date are having on national morale, on the fears and anxieties of all Guyanese, whether or not they are supporters of your political party.
A former presidential advisor to Granger who quit after being deemed not ‘fit and proper’ to become Chairman of GECOM, Singh told Granger that as the incumbent, he is at the crossroads “where you have to now choose between pampering to a cabal who bode you no good and who certainly do not have the national interest nor your interest at heart. In their warped, self-centred way, they are manipulating the Constitution, the Supreme Law and their allies in various national institutions and Services of this land, to serve their purposes.”
The former GECOM chair was puzzled by the fact that an election which, for all intents and purposes, went smoothly on March 2, has degenerated into a “witches’ brew of mismanagement by GECOM, misinformation, threats, violence, excessive use of force, manipulation of officers and ranks, and propaganda spun by spin doctors weaving a web of deceit and in which you seem to be entrapped.”
Laughing Stock
Singh pointed out that Granger must surely be aware that the assessments of accredited local, regional and international observers but yet would want to shelter under the false premise- that because GECOM was allowed to function without interference, he is somehow absolved of complicity in the deteriorating governance of the electoral process.
In fact, the former presidential advisor said, the situation has made this country the laughing stock of the region, and it is rapidly degenerating into a pariah state in the assessment of those who, rightly or wrongly, are the determinants of what constitutes a failed state.
“I was heartened, Mr. President, when last Sunday in this season of Lent, and like Saul on the road to Damascus, you had an epiphany, perhaps finally awakening to the realisation, as your courageous son-in-law Dominic Gaskin did, that something was rotten in the governance of the electoral process and that you needed to act independently and decisively to salvage your legacy and redeem the pride lost. This was acknowledged in the Statement made by the Chair of Caricom on Tuesday, 17 March 2020.”
According to Singh, Granger agreed to a CARICOM mission to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region 4 of the General and Regional Elections.
However, the high-level CARICOM team was unable to do work because of several interim injunctions granted Tuesday.
The former army chief noted that it was Mia Mottley, the Chair of CARICOM who in a sharp statement said that it is clear that there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason.
Mottley, in that statement, also stressed that any government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy.
“Mr. President, this statement comes from your colleague, the Hon Prime Minister of Barbados and not from some foreign representative of a superpower, whom we seem fond of accusing of interference or of talking down to us.”
According to Singh, he is convinced that Mottley has made serious allegations.
“…and since you were the one to request the CARICOM team to supervise the recounting of the ballots in Region 4 (subsequently extended to all the 10 districts), I believe we are owed an explanation from you, Sir, as to what conspiracy is afoot that would sabotage your laudable initiative which was agreed to by the Leader of the Opposition, and made possible by the Chair of CARICOM and her colleague Heads of Governments.
Singh was critical that such a commendable initiative should be stillborn as a result of an injunction originating from Granger’s own party.
Manipulation?
In fact, it would send a worrying message that “either you are being Machiavellian, or being manipulated, or you have simply lost control over the actions of members of your own inner circle. Whatever may be the reason for this embarrassment to you, to us citizens, and to our country’s image, it is no trivial matter. If the minions who are behind this conspiracy are not identified and excised like a cancerous tumour from the body politic, we will all suffer from the contamination and the penalties we are likely to be faced with are an illegitimate government and being deemed a pariah state.”
Singh told Granger, himself a former army chief, that he has always held him in high esteem as a colleague and friend of nearly six decades.
“I have forgiven you for classifying me and other nominees for the Chairmanship of GECOM as ‘Not Fit and Proper Persons’ but I will not forgive you if you fail to do the honourable duty of calling off the Dogs of War, excise them condignly from wherever they are hatching their moves and counter moves. We, long suffering Guyanese, fooled by mirages of a good life, are hurting, are embarrassed and are angry. Let this poisoned chalice pass, Mr. President.”
The retired army chief offered to help.
“If you feel you are boxed in a corner and need reinforcements, then there are enough Guyanese of goodwill and decency who will rise to the occasion and ensure the recount is completed transparently and with alacrity.”
He said that whichever party is acknowledged as legitimate, must be allowed to form the government.
“Such government must be prepared to govern in the best interests of all Guyanese and with such inclusivity and consensus as will facilitate a sustained process of reforms that all have promised yet failed to deliver to successive generations.”
Singh reminded Granger, that it is now his duty to exercise leadership responsibilities and to direct with GECOM, the peaceful and orderly completion of the electoral process by ensuring the mission is accomplished- that is, the agreed recount of all ballots cast in the Guyana 2020 General and Regional Elections, in an environment conducive to security, transparency, integrity and the credibility of the results.
“If the mission succeeds, it will be a positive contribution to your legacy. I have high expectations that you will not fail us,” he added.
