Time to put Guyana first

On June 11, 1963, at the height of civil rights unrest in the United States not unlike what it is experiencing today, then President John F Kennedy uttered the following words in an announcement calling for nationwide participation in addressing what he described as the moral crisis: “In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.”

Those words are apt as Guyana emerges from a five-month-old crisis which had its proximate genesis in the motion of no confidence of December 21, 2018. As protracted as it was the Gordian knot was cut in a series of fast-moving events yesterday. It is now for men of goodwill and the spirit of magnanimity to prevail and for the entire nation to be mobilised to put Guyana first. The major responsibility now rests with Mr Irfaan Ali who was yesterday sworn in as the 9th Executive President of the Republic of Guyana at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. His running mate at the March 2nd elections, former Guyana Defence Force Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips was sworn in as Prime Minister along with several members of the Cabinet.

Just prior to the swearing in, former President David Granger in one of his last official acts released a statement in which he conveyed respect for the `declaration’ while signalling that his coalition remained dissatisfied with the results of the elections. Importantly, he urged his supporters to “to continue to conduct themselves in a lawful and peaceful manner”.

The belated declaration yesterday by GECOM Chair, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh of the results of the recount of the elections was an outstanding victory for democracy here, in CARICOM and further afield. It was a triumph for every single man, woman and child in the country. Enough cannot be said about the array of men and women of determination who stood up for the cause of one person/one vote and to ensure that Guyana remained in the realm of democratic nations and did not suffer for long the slings and barbs of being a pariah state.

Among those who should be specially commended are the dozens of media workers across the spectrum who helped the public to understand what transpired on the hustings, on polling day and in the five long months since March 2nd. They did this with verve and at great risk to their safety and wellbeing – particularly during the arduous 32-day recount – and with unremitting dedication.

Also to be recognised are all those persons who night after night guarded the containers with ballot boxes as if their lives depended on it. Those ballot boxes contained the truth of the elections and enabled the successful conclusion of the recount. The dozens who worked together

each night despite the COVID-19 restrictions have done a great service to their nation by way of their heightened consciousness of their role in the democracy project.

Not to be forgotten are the thousands of polling day workers who discharged their functions professionally at 2,339 polling stations on March 2nd, dozens of whom then undertook the painstaking recount of the ballots. The dozens of party agents who participated in the recount must also be congratulated.

The Caribbean Community stood resolutely and squarely on behalf of democracy here and in so doing has helped to cement its bond not only with Guyana but with the Guyanese people. All of the skepticism that attended CARICOM’s past with elections in Guyana was dissolved by the determined positions taken by its immediate past Chair, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the current Chair, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

CARICOM rode to the rescue of democracy here by clinching the pivotal agreement for a recount and after the scuttling of the first mission, managing to mobilise the three-person team of Sylvester King, Deputy Supervisor of Elections of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies and John Jarvis, Commissioner of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission to perform as scrutineers. They undertook their work sedulously and presented the magisterial report which enabled yesterday’s declaration.

At all stages of the elections and when it mattered most, the Organisation of American States,

the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union played pivotal roles in ensuring that those entrusted with upholding democracy and democratic values did just that. The country and Guyanese owe a debt of gratitude to them.

Five months of hard struggle for the upholding of democracy will make clear to each and every Guyanese that no government can disrespect the will of the people, toy with their legitimate aspirations or govern in an autocratic or corrupt manner. Those days are gone. They have been replaced by heightened awareness of the populace and the collective principles of good governance that underpin the comity of nations. Any government oblivious to this functions in great peril.

Returning to office after five years on the opposition benches, it is the expectation that the PPP/C and President Ali will govern with humility and recognition of the need to bridge yawning divides that have historically bedevilled this country and which have been deepened in recent months. Without a Parliament for more than a year and no budget for 2020, the country also faces the severe challenges of COVID-19, the immiserizing of working people, a crisis in the sugar industry and a plenitude of challenges in the oil industry. There is only one way to govern: put Guyana first and to reach across all divides.

What we do today right now will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows - Alexandra Stoddard