Since Harmon wants ‘issues’ addressed he should release the SoPs

Dear Editor,

Joseph Harmon’s statement posted on Monday immediately reminded me of the old Guyanese proverb “nah every big head get sense”. His statement was recorded under the safe shelter of the government media, the NCN and DPI.

In his statement, Harmon impugned the credibility of the election but confusingly seeks to claim confidence that the APNU+AFC has won these elections. This is a non sequitur. This is even something David Granger refused to do in his recent interview. The APNU+AFC camp has to make up its mind; it can either claim that the election was not credible or that it can claim it has won the election. It cannot logically claim both. Having said that, all that is left for the APNU+AFC to claim is that they have won an “incredible election”.

Harmon then seeks to assert that there was undermining of the GECOM process placing the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of GECOM and the almost 12,000 GECOM elections day staff it carefully hired and trained and the almost 5,000 party agents supervising the process in the polling stations on election day. Importantly, party agents come mostly from a pool of longstanding party loyalists who are well trained. In fact, there was one APNU+AFC party agent who I know has a master’s degree from a UK university. So, that is close to 17,000 persons the APNU+AFC has accused of conspiring and colluding (including their party faithful) to perpetrate electoral fraud in polling stations. That is enough people to fill the Guyana National Stadium but Harmon and the APNU+AFC finds this to be a credible explanation. Genius!

Not surprisingly, Harmon ignores completely Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent declaration for District 4 and even seeks to reference it among the valid declarations on GECOM’s record. Not a word in his statement about Mingo’s fraud being proven daily and published in the independent media. Not a word about Mingo’s fraud being proven daily despite the fact that a former Prime Minister, a former PNC Minister, a joint statement by the Ambassadors of the USA and EU and High Commissioners of the UK and Canada have all alleged fraud specifically as it related to the tabulation of votes for District 4. Fraud is far more serious than irregularities and anomalies but Harmon remains unmoved enough to even mention it.

Since Harmon, in his statement, is asking GECOM to address issues, I invite him to join the numerous calls by many stakeholders and observers for GECOM to publish its Statements of Poll for District 4. In fact, I invite Harmon and the APNU+AFC to publish for the world to see the Statements of Poll which the APNU+AFC has in its possession upon which they have claimed they have won the election. I am sure the publication of their Statements of Poll will form part of the private criminal charges which have already been filed and will be pursued aggressively at the appropriate time.

Finally, there are many times people lie in life. There are even some times when we lie to ourselves. But there are times when lying will never save you. Either by the conclusion of the recount or by the shutting down of the recount by the caretaker government’s Covid Task Force, it will be proven that the APNU+AFC was lying when it said it won these elections based on the Statements of Poll they have in their possession. The world will also see if David Granger will honour his commitment to ensure the recount is completed. Both will prove that the APNU+AFC lost the election.