I am not sufficiently convinced that the results of the Region 4 elections as declared by the GECOM RO last Thursday (March 5th) accurately reflect the results recorded on the various statements of poll collected from the 879 polling stations…I have a difficulty accepting that all the persons and organizations who have so far deemed the process to lack credibility have somehow gotten it wrong…If our election results are as widely rejected as they appear likely to be, then there can be no winners.
Even though a statute puts power in the hands of a Returning Officer, that Returning Officer will understand that he holds in his hands the future and stability of Guyana as we go forward, because every vote must be made to count.
Last Monday, Guyanese voters took to the polling stations to cast their ballots for general and regional elections following the 21 December 2018 vote of no confidence in the Government.
This is the time for all stakeholders to demonstrate commitment to democratic principles, processes and institutions and not lose sight of the fact that legitimate elections represent the voice and will of the people.
Global Witness is an international watchdog group that ‘campaigns to end environmental and human rights abuses driven by the exploitation of natural resources and corruption in the global and economic system’.
Corruption hinders economic growth and the delivery of public services. In some cases, corruption even deprives people of their human rights and dignity, like when citizens are coerced to provide sexual favours in exchange for public services, such as health and education – a practice known as sexual extortion or “sextortion”.
In last week’s article, we began to highlight the key events that took place in 2019 which presented significant challenges for democracy and the rule of law in Guyana.
After 25 years, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is being replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) amid criticisms of the benefits achieved so far.
Angola, Africa’s second largest oil exporting country with a GDP per capita of US$3,230 in 2018, has recovered over US$5 billion of state funds, including $3 billion siphoned off the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) through corruption and money-laundering.
In our article of 25 February 2019, we reported that former Maldives President Abdulla Yameen was arrested for allegedly receiving bribes and kickbacks estimated at US$80 million involving leasing islands and reefs.
Iceland’s largest fishing conglomerate, Samherji, used an anonymous shell company in the Marshall Islands to launder illegal fishing activities off the coasts of West Africa and to bribe members of the Namibia government.
This week’s article is a continuation of last week’s in which we provided a background to the United Kingdom’s (UK) proposed withdrawal from the European Union (EU), known as Brexit, following the referendum of June 2016.
The issue of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) of which it has been a member since 1972, has seen two Prime Ministers – David Cameron and Theresa May – resigning from their positions over what is known as “Brexit”.
