Editorial

With hindsight, it is more than a little surprising that, glaring and reckless transgressions notwithstanding, large sections of the Guyana population still comply  with the unprecedented strictures and encumbrances required of us on account of the most alarming malady that we have ever had to confront, the Coronavirus.

An overarching and vaguely worded national security law imposed on Hong Kong this week marks the end of an era.

What else can be said about Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield that has not already been said? 

In a Page One comment on June 25th, Stabroek News stated the following in relation to the Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield: “As we have said before, Mr Lowenfield must be summarily dismissed from his position.

Most Guyanese are hoping that the CCJ’s decision on Wednesday marks the end of the long excursion into legal back alleys intended to block the declaration of the true result of the election held on March 2nd.

This was bound to happen. The signs were there all along that Hong Kong’s semi-autonomy and the way the special administrative region flexed it were vexing to the People’s Republic of China so no one should be surprised at the recent new security law imposed by China that in essence could be used to quell dissent against the Chinese government and reduce Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Last Wednesday, the life innings of the oldest surviving West Indian Test cricketer, Everton Weekes came to an end.

Not nearly enough recognition or respect is afforded the nursing profession in Guyana.

Yesterday’s passing of 25-year-old teacher, Donna Greaves at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) underlines the continuing trauma facing the country from COVID-19.

President David Granger’s revelation in a radio interview last Monday that he supported Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield’s report to Gecom, and that he thought the declaration of results should be based on it, set alarm bells ringing throughout the country.

In 1993, Richard Ben Cramer finished the most detailed account of modern American politics ever published.

Anyone who thought the de facto President was just a puppet on a string whom diehard party elements along with former military personnel were just manipulating, was forced to revise that judgement on Monday when the caretaker head of state emerged from behind the curtain  and revealed himself as the puppet-master.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley hands over the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves at a special meeting tomorrow via video conference.

As the elections saga /drama continues to unfold, its by-product of emotional strain has begun to have significant effects on our personal relationships.

The plot provides a bizarre throwback to the Cold War era, when the concept of spheres of influence, powered by the incendiary fuel of the global ideological divide, held Washington and in the ‘banana republics’ in the hemisphere in a crushing embrace.

As the end game draws closer in these torturous elections, the role of the caretaker President Mr Granger in this malign campaign to thwart the will of the people becomes clearer and clearer.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been the inspiration for the toppling of statues all over the western world.

Prime Minister Trudeau’s rejection of a deal with China over the detention of two Canadians has lent a significant twist to the extradition battle over Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

This must be a first in the world.  It cannot have happened in any other democracy that a Chief Election Officer could arrogate to himself the power to decide which votes he would count in a general election and which he wouldn’t.

“…When you want something bad enough to steal//That’s rock bottom//When you feel you’ve have had it up to here//’Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear [cry]//That’s rock bottom…” American rapper Eminem’s angst was not political.