Dear Editor,
Dr Ian McDonald, a columnist of the Sunday Stabroek who has rarely written on Guyana’s politics, must have been thoroughly peeved to take the unusual step to pen his article “Something rotten in the State”, Stabroek News, May 10, 2020. In his article he questions “Why does the President not lead the way in restoring at least something of Guyana’s shattered regional and international reputation? Why does he put up with the stalling and obfuscation which is destroying our democracy and prospects?” Since the publication of that article, Mr Granger has himself joined his party officials in questioning the credibility of the election process although earlier he had declared the elections to be free and fair.
Stabroek News’ editorial of June 8, 2020 “Declare the recount result” has now provided the answer to Dr McDonald’s very pertinent questions. The editorial notes “True to form, Guyana’s caretaker President since December 21st 2018 has offered his own jaundiced version of the recount of votes from the March 2nd general elections. In an address on June 6th to the nation, Mr David Granger said two things which have extinguished the last vestiges of plausible deniability over who should be held accountable for the incumbent APNU+AFC’s tawdry attempt to defy the will of the people as expressed on polling day. Mr Granger must now be seen as the conductor of this cacophony of bewildering and unfounded claims about the elections”.
Mr Granger’s actions since the No Confidence Vote (NCV) of December 2018 leave one with the impression that he is either a weak leader, or he is complicit with the actions of his party’s officials, or both. With reference to the NCV, there was no need to have had this matter taken through the courts and have the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) admonishing counsel for the APNU+AFC that commonsense informs that 33 is the majority in a 65-seat parliament. In fact, the ruling of the local court which caused this matter to reach the CCJ will forever remain an embarrassment to Guyanese.
In relation to the March 2 elections, we saw Mr Granger inviting international observers to witness the process. When these eminent individuals saw the now infamous Mingo fiddling with the numbers and called him out, the Foreign Minister came and threatened to revoke their credentials. Yet Mr Granger remained silent on their treatment. This is akin to someone inviting eminent guests into his/her home and then allowing the helper to threaten to chase them away.
Matters got worse. After agreeing with CARICOM Chairperson, Barbadian Prime Minister Ms Mia Mottley, to send a CARICOM team to oversee the recount agreed to by him and the leader of the Opposition, with the arrival of the team members, a candidate on his party list petitioned the court challenging the recount. The lawyer representing the petitioner was another member of his team. How could Mr Granger, a man who once held top posts in the Guyana Defence Force, allow subordinates on his team, to undermine his authority and embarrass him in the eyes of his CARICOM counterparts?
We also see APNU+AFC supporters and officials abusing US Ambassador, Ms Sarah-Ann Lynch, among others, and accusing her and her government of meddling in Guyana’s internal affairs for simply speaking the truth. This is unpardonable considering the US’s role through the International Republican Institute (IRI) in helping the APNU+AFC to win the 2015 election and Mr Bryan Hunt, then Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, in defending the victory against protests by the PPP. Mr Granger’s silence in not defending Ambassador Lynch or her government is even more noteworthy when one considers the close relation he shared with the US government even before entering politics. He is a 2000 alumnus and former adjunct professor of the US William J. Perry Center For Hemispheric Defense Studies, a key institution of the US Government, and in 2015 he was a speaker at the Center’s graduation ceremony.
(https://www.ndu.edu/News/Article-View/Article/611531/president-of-guyana-david-granger-speaks-at-perry-center-cdsc-graduation-ceremo/).
Further, we note the General Secretary of APNU, the most powerful minister in Mr Granger’s administration, retained a US law firm to lobby US politicians and government officials, with documents filed with US authorities claiming the firm was to act on behalf of the Guyana Government. Subsequently, after local uproar, this claim was amended to indicate the lobbying would be on behalf of APNU. Worse yet, Mr Granger is identified in these documents as a US citizen, a point he has vehemently denied. The obvious question is: how has Mr Granger, leader of APNU and caretaker President, allowed this situation to occur?
With a second CARICOM team finally allowed to scrutinize the votes recount, as the process neared completion, APNU+AFC officials became more and more strident with unproven claims of fraud on election day. This is in-spite of the fact that all international and local observers commended the process as being free and fair. Moreover, there was no dissenting voice from the thousands of APNU+AFC scrutineers who were present at polling stations to verify the authenticity of each voter by comparing each person to his/her photograph on file before the person could vote. Sadly, Mr Granger has now joined the bandwagon with these baseless claims.
It is unfortunate that a person who came to power in 2015 with much goodwill from the international community and voters who were prepared to eschew voting along racial lines, squandered a glorious opportunity to make Guyana a better place for all its citizens. The votes recount shows that Mr Granger and his coalition lost the trust of the majority of Guyanese. Yet, APNU leaders seem determined to hold on to power. The next few weeks will reveal whether Guyana remains a democracy or becomes a pariah nation with unimaginable consequences to its citizens. The future now lies in the hands of GECOM Chairperson, Ms Claudette Singh.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash
