Oh man, that 2020 election again!
Kaieteur News – When my child was 10 preparing for what we in Guyana refer to as the “Common Entrance” exam in general, he took afternoon lessons with renowned teacher, Wilfred Success in West Ruimveldt.
I would drop her, then, pick up my wife from GOINVEST after work, then, instead of going home only to go out again to West Ruimveldt, we would wander the barrage as they said, “kill time.” One of our favorite places was the beach at Lusignan. We spent many afternoons enjoying that site.
Last week we were heading up the East Coast so we turned to the Lusignan seafront to call back memories. We had not been to that site since our child completed his “Common Entrance.” The beach is completely gone – missing due to the endless trespassing of mangroves, which is of course a geological advantage.
As we left the area, we drove slowly to observe the changes. Near the seafront, this gentleman cleared the parapet outside his home. He called to me and I stopped. He said he liked my columns, and that he enjoyed taking Eusi Kwayana. Then he said, “yuh write too much about the election though.” I agreed but I told him that it is one of the most important events in Guyanese history and that he will stay as long as Guyana is alive. With a wide smile, he said, “very yuh.”
So here I am writing on the March 2020 election. Will I stop? No. Context is everything. At my age, I don’t think I want to resurrect my anti-dictatorship activism, and if there was a successful rigged election in March last year, I would have had to do it. If there was a successful rigged election last year, I don’t know if my daughter and her generation would have had a future.
So here I am since March 4, 2020 once again looking at the general election. This analysis responds to Vincent Alexander’s answer to me in KN on March 4. In the Stabroek News last Sunday, Lincoln Lewis claims that the PPP is an illegal government. Moses Nagamootoo after a year of extinction has resurfaced to claim that the Americans rigged the election for the PPP. Alexander and Lewis have been prolific about the PPP interventionist fiction so often, a reader may be inclined to ask what to ignore.
That can’t be done because every argument, every point, every big word, every little newspaper letter, every enlightened opinion that reveals people like Alexander, Lewis and Nagamootoo add to the body of historical knowledge that will teach generations to come.
The rejection of these three men is based on simple facts that democratic and patriotic Guyanese citizens must repeat. Alexander and Lewis claimed in their newspaper publications that the election was dictated by the PPP. What’s so weird about that?
Both men have not produced and cannot produce a single source from the government of any country, any global organization, any legislator of any nation that supported their bid. This in itself is a record. A disputed national election in any country follows a well-known pattern. The sore loser, the incumbent, has his supporters whom they cultivated when in power.
In the Guyana election, no government in the world supported the PNC’s assertion. Not one US legislator received a PNC victory. None of the 10 opposition parties that have opposed the election have accepted that the PPP has rigged the vote. No observers group concluded that the results were unacceptable.
Of course, the PNC could enjoy massive worldwide support if it could secure an audience with the UN or American government or CARICOM Heads of State and show them where their voting statements (SOPs) point to PNC’s victory. In fact, the PNC’s own partner, the AFC, has not seen the SOPs, according to Dominic Gaskin.
Perhaps the most hilarious aspect of the accusation of interfering with PPP is in the constitution of GECOM. Three of its commissioners represent the PNC. Its chairman does not show an ounce of pro-PPP bias. The State has charged the Chief Elections Officer and his deputy with other GECOM Secretariat staff, who are currently led by the PPP government so could not have been sympathetic to the PPP during the poll.
How then did the PPP achieve electoral fraud that spun the results? And given the widespread fraud, why did GECOM verify the results for nine of the 10 Regions on Wednesday morning, March 4. We owe it to our young generation to expose the PNC and the AFC and ‘ u deputies.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper.)