GECOM has lost its effectiveness as a tool of good governance

Dear Editor,

The struggle between the values of high morality versus those of unworthiness and selfishness are self-evident in the pitched battle for a transparent and credible region four vote re-count in order to arrive at who is the victor and the vanquished.

GECOM as is to be expected, is at the centre of the storm.

Those in control of the elections machinery cum Secretariat, seem to have accepted the narrative, “If our President can do it, we can too.” In other words, if the President can ride roughshod over the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana, why can’t we at GECOM?

What the fiddlers at the GECOM Secretariat have failed to recognize is any change in GECOM’S course by one degree will result in GECOM sailing in entirely different waters.

And this is precisely what has happened.

After several attempts by the GECOM Secretariat to invalidate the numbers assigned mainly to the PPP/C during the verification of votes cast in favour of the PPP/C at Region 4, GECOM found itself where it is today...mired in controversy and total rejection of its misdeeds.

And as if this was not enough, some at home and abroad, reluctant to come to grips with the perverse elections track record of the PNC and the untidy complexity of Guyana’s electoral history have decided that now is the time to push once again the stained envelope stamped ‘Return To Sender’ containing the worn and beaten call for a national unity government.

It is true that the PPP has from time to time called for the establishment of such a government, but every time it did so it was done in a particular historical context. Certain advocates of this call are acquainted with Guyana’s historical electoral experiences, their relevance and application in today’s context is questionable.

There are some among those who are now prominent in

this call and who, in the run-up to the 1992 elections are on record declaring that Cheddi Jagan, because he was of East Indian descent, was not fit to be a consensus candidate. They further stated that Jagan would not be acceptable to members of the disciplined forces nor would the business community support him because of race and ideology.

When the PPP proposed Dr. Roger Luncheon’s name instead of Dr. Jagan to be the consensus candidate, these same individuals’ response was “He’s Black but he’s Red.”

Small wonder why many have asked the question why is this call being made on the cusp of an imminent PPP/C victory? Why was it not made in May 2015 when the APNU+AFC claimed victory at the polls?

In any event, neither the PPP/C nor the APNU+AFC at their rallies and meetings during the elections campaign committed to establishing such a form of government after the elections.

And so as it was before and as it is now, the matter will continue to be a debatable one.

That aside, in the context of recent occurrences, GECOM has lost its effectiveness as a tool of good governance. Its constitutional jurisdiction is being emasculated by those who thrive on voter fraud, ballot thieving, deception, confusion, fake news, blatant rigging, trampling on the constitution, fanning intolerance, race hate and fear.

As matters stand now, free and fair elections in Guyana have been turned upside down. It is now associated with someone determining one’s choice for one.

But the political elite in the APNU+AFC and the ex-military strategists with whom they are in concubinage are slow to learn and quick to forget that those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.

APNU+AFC is now trapped in the zeitgeist of the 2020’s and beyond, and in a country which stands the risk of basking in splendid isolation by the international community including the OAS, the Commonwealth, the European Union, CARICOM and the G77 and China at the United Nations.

Yours faithfully,

Clement J. Rohee