Dear Editor,
The institutions and freedoms of a democratic society are being abused and set against the nation in an attempted resurrection of the Forbes Burnham doctrine of Manifest Destiny.
This perverted notion, which decrees the PNC supreme – with all democratic institutions mere subservient arms of the party, was on full display for the OAS special session of the Permanent Council on the Guyana situation.
This game plan that binds the Granger cabal has been pursued with ploys ranging from the party name change, to attempts at splitting opposition solidarity and electoral fraud.
In a direct challenge to the international community reflecting the thinly disguised intent to hang on to power, Foreign Minister Cummings let it be known that the laws of Guyana and apparently the courts of Guyana “alone” would be allowed to determine the outcome of the March 2nd elections.
In a statement with only a slight pretense of ambiguousness, and all indications of the belief that the government is simply an arm of the party, Cummings asserted:
“The Elections Commission is expected to declare the election results based on the Constitution of Guyana, the rulings of “the Court”, and the advice of the Chief Elections Officer, which must be consistent with the laws of Guyana.”
Clearly, “courts” and “laws of Guyana” in the above statement refer only to judgements acceptable to the party. Just one day before this statement, the Chief Justice ruled that while the CEO may be expected to act independently, he cannot be a “lone ranger”.
The Chief Election Officer is subject to the direction and control of the Commission. Appallingly, with complete disregard and disrespect for the Chief Justice, the Foreign Minister effectively told the OAS and the world that the Chief Justice’s ruling was irrelevant to the party and the administration.
In the judgement handed down by her, the Chief Justice also admonished that there must be finality to judicial decisions. Myriad persons cannot be permitted to engage the court with multiple applications regarding the same issue which has been decided, and shield behind the claim that they were not a party to the previous proceedings. To so permit would be to waste precious judicial time and resources. In short order – this cannot be allowed.
Since the March 2nd election, the courts have been tied up with APNU/AFC/Lowenfield, Ulita Moore, Eslyn David and Misenga Jones litigating the same issues over and over again.
There has also been continuous claims of fraud by the coalition when the only established acts of electoral fraud have been by Lowenfield and Mingo.
However, truth or facts seem to be no impediment for Attorney General Williams. He claimed before the OAS special session on Guyana that there was massive fraud in the elections. It has to be repeated that it is well known that their claim is based on three main assertions:
Deceased persons voting
Migrants who were out of the country voting
Missing documents
The first two have been disproven. Missing documents in itself is not grounds as the process is designed to ensure that ballots are valid. Furthermore, the CARICOM team, Granger’s “most legitimate interlocutor” (before they ceased to be), reported that the recount figures are a credible basis for a declaration.
But more to the point, the documents are missing due to the malfeasance of Mingo and Lowenfield. Mingo apparently instructed subordinate officers under his direction in a number of PPP/C strongholds, not to include counterfoils logbooks etc. in the sealed ballot boxes. This was counter to the mandated practice. Anil Nandlall challenged Mingo on this and Mingo gave his assurance that he would correct the deviation. Those documents were sent to Mingo in separate packages. They are now missing.
Williams is crying foul on the basis of their own malfeasance. This is nonsensical. It is also a common sense matter. In addition, it speaks to the depths to which this administration and its leaders have sunken.
To restore any legitimacy to itself, the PNC must cleanse itself of the baggage currently at its helm and allow new and principled leadership to chart fresh directions for the party.
Yours faithfully,
Ron Cheong
