Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my total disgust at the way in which the ruling elite – led by Mr Jagdeo and his appointed adviser, now the presidential candidate, Mr Donald Ramotar, have completely violated all the civilized rules and regulations governing a fair and free election to be held on November 28.
I lived under the Burnham period of rule and its manipulation of the electoral process, and became a victim of the political repression and victimization, as an activist of the People‘s Progressive Party led by Dr Cheddi Jagan and his partner, Janet Jagan. They, in my view, kept a level of decency that may be beyond reproach. But the current hijackers of the People‘s Progressive Party, Donald Ramotar and Bharrat Jagdeo, have completely changed the democratic traditions of the PPP.
The total misuse of state funds and other resources far outmatches that of Forbes Burnham and his party, the Peoples‘ National Congress. The reported misuse of public funds for political campaigning began long before the actual election date was announced, and all of this has gone completely unnoticed by the regulatory body, the Guyana Election Commission, (Gecom).
The opposition parties would have very good reason to call ‘foul,‘ if they lose the elections, because of the massive advantage given to the ruling PPP/C. There is a litany of violations, which are reported daily in the national newspapers, Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, the Demerara Waves webnews and the two main evening newscasts, Prime News and Capitol News.
Gecom, headed by Dr Steve Surujbally and CEO Goocol Boodoo, must be aware of these rampant abuses and violations and ought to take drastic steps to halt them, but so far nothing has been done to seriously reprimand the ruling party and its chief violators, Messrs Jagdeo, Ramotar and Robert Persaud, the PPP/C Campaign Manager.
If such violations were committed in the United Kingdom, where I lived for more than 20 years, the violator would have been made to pay through its nose and face the threat of being disqualified from the elections altogether. Readers of this newspaper may know that the UK’s Electoral Commission, has a similar function to our Gecom. It is an “independent body set up by the UK Parliament,” whose main purpose is “integrity and public confidence in the democratic process.” Moreover, it has the task of registering political parties, making sure people understand and follow the rules on party and election finance, publishing details of where parties and candidates get money from and how they spend it, setting the standards for running elections and reporting on how well this is done, and making sure people understand it is important to register to vote, and know how to vote.
And finally, the UK Electoral Commission also wants to ensure that those who wish to take part in the electoral process, including parties, candidates and other campaigners, can easily find out how to get involved, and what the rules are.
Gecom has not yet taken any bold steps to sanction any violators of the established rules and regulations. The extravagant use of public funds and state resources has gone completely unchecked by Gecom.
The ruling cabal has created an atmosphere of unity among voters that was never contemplated, and its continued disregard for decent electioneering has brought about the slogan – Don’t Vote PPP.
Yours faithfully,
Jinnah Rahman
