Dear Editor,
Guyanese have been intellectually assaulted and psychologically abused for the last 17 months following the defeat of the Granger-led APNU+AFC government by the successful passage of the No Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018 and its defeat once again at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. It is now 56 days and we still do not have a date for the commencement of the recount of the votes.
As if the Friday April 24, 2020 meeting of the Guyana Elections Commission under the chairmanship of Claudette Singh was not enough to bear in this long masquerade of electoral fraud, David Granger’s post on his Facebook page on April 25th is the work of a delusional mind when he accused the PPP of ‘trying to frustrate the recount process after losing the elections’.
Mr. Granger could not possibly have forgotten the facts; unless he is suffering from amnesia, or, unless he is in the clutches of his Chief Lieutenant Mr. Joe Harmon, who seems to be his sole contact with the outside world.
But whichever one it is, let me remind Mr. Granger of the facts:-
It was no other than Mr. Granger who made an overture to CARICOM for a supervised recount; the PPP agreed to the High Level Team to supervise the recount as a means of finding a way forward; this was over a month ago: It was Mr. Granger’s appointed Commissioners who put a number of frivolous obstacles in the way to prevent the recount commencing on March 16th;
It was Mr. Granger’s candidate, Ulita Moore represented by another APNU candidate, who approached the court to block the recount;
It was the Granger-led machinery in cahoots with the GECOM Secretariat led by the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield, who proposed to have the recount done in 156 days supported by Vincent Alexander and the 2 other Granger-appointed Commissioners and opposed the PPP proposal to have it done in 10 days.
It is Granger, as head of the APNU+AFC Coalition, who has refused to publish his party’s Statements of Poll;
It is Lowenfield, supported by the Chairperson and the Granger- appointed Commissioners, who voted to prevent the release of the Statements of Poll.
One must wonder why Granger and other leaders of his party, who seem so certain that their party won the elections, are so intransigently opposed to releasing copies of the SOPs that are in their possession?
One also must wonder how he has conveniently forgotten once again that it is he who called on GECOM to publish the SOPs in the 2011 elections which was granted. He has forgotten that the same request was made by the AFC in the 2006 elections and that too was granted.
Mr. Granger may delude himself but the whole world and all of Guyana already knows who won the March 2, 2020 elections- the PPP/C won!
The whole world, represented by all the international and regional bodies, is demanding transparent, timely, fair and credible results of these elections, nothing less, or, it will not recognize the government.
Yet Mr. Granger deludes himself about who is frustrating the process. May l remind Mr. Granger once again –
-It is the Granger- appointed Commissioners and Chairperson who opposed eight (8) and a half (1/2) of the 10 proposals made by the PPP-appointed Commissioners to ensure transparency and build confidence in the electoral process. It is they who voted against having an independent auditor present to observe the count, who voted against live-streaming the count so that all Guyanese can see that it is done transparently, who voted for a limit on the number of observers at each counting station; who supported the Lowenfield plan, although the process outlined is radically different from the procedure set out in the Representation of the People Act and is therefore not in accordance with the law.
If one is to believe that Mr. Granger wants an expeditious and transparent recount, this is his last chance to redeem any modicum of decency left. Let him agree to the PPP’s proposals to have the recount done in ten days, in the presence of international observers and independent auditors, live-streamed so that Guyanese and the entire world can see.
After 56 days waiting for results of the elections, our patience is being very sorely tested.
Yours faithfully,
Gail Teixeira
