Politics is sometimes described as the art of the possible. Not in Guyana. Caretaker President David Granger is bent on transforming it into the art of the impossible. The fact that the attempt to rig the March 2nd election occurred in full view of innumerable witnesses, that all cases brought to the courts to secure recognition of an illegality have failed, and that the international community has adopted an adamantine stance in relation to the fraud seem to have made no impression on him whatsoever. In the teeth of the evidence he has still persisted with the fiction that the election was massively rigged by the PPP/C, and has made it apparent he is waiting to be sworn in as the next President of Guyana.
He has appeared impervious to warnings that international sanctions would follow from any illegitimate swearing in, even after visa restrictions were announced by the US State Department in relation to some officials, and it was indicated that this could be extended to members of their families. Further restrictions followed at the end of last week. The economic implications for the country would be very severe indeed were the full array of sanctions available to the western world to come into play.
Citizens can only marvel that a man with an academic qualification in International Relations could be so divorced from the real world and so at odds with the spirit of the age, that he could disregard what the global community has been telling him. He has to look no further than Venezuela to see what the crystal ball says in relation to the future of this country if he persists in his irrational course. Yet encapsulated in his time-warp bubble he seems to have convinced himself that he could change the view of western countries in general and regional ones, in particular, in relation to electoral events here. It is an illusion.
The problem is that with the endless court cases which APNU+AFC has lost, the antagonistic pronouncements against foreign leaders by party spokesman Mr Joseph Harmon, and most of all the interminable wait for an election result along with Mr Granger’s own reclusive behaviour, there is now the sense of a power vacuum. And into that power vacuum are creeping elements reflecting an older mindset with their various acts of arson. It is a dangerous development which could open the door to further expressions of uncontrolled behaviour, that the current de facto government in general and the head-of-state in particular might eventually be powerless to control, barring a coup. Surely even Mr Granger is not seeking a situation of social madness.
It is no news to anyone that in order to stop the decay in the wider society the first thing which has to happen is the declaration of a result, and the second thing is that the de facto President has to accept that result. Where the first is concerned the news was anything but good on Thursday following the Appeal Court dismissal of the Misenga Jones case. Party spokesman Joseph Harmon in making the first official comment said, “We iterate that when the matter goes to Gecom that only valid votes will be counted in the final declaration made by the Chairman of Gecom. Fraudulent votes cannot be the basis for a final declaration to be made. This is our firm position.”
With his customary lack of discretion and political sensitivity, he went on to make none too well-camouflaged imputations against the judges in the case, saying he “did not expect much out of the Court of Appeal as constituted.” He claimed their ruling was not sound in law, something which as a lawyer he must know is nonsense, going on to remark, “The Guyanese people will certainly examine in a more meticulous way the manner in which their justice system functions.” His words were certainly not in the best tradition of liberal democracy.
While the lawyers directly or indirectly representing the de facto government in that case were granted a 24-hour stay in order “to consider the way forward”, that time period has since elapsed. Nevertheless they still have 42 days, this newspaper was told, in order to file an appeal. If they do go that route it will be clear evidence that State House and its associates are still refusing to come to terms with reality. Whether, however, the attorneys which represent them have the presumption to agree to appeal the case at the level of the CCJ where it has effectively already been litigated, remains to be seen. It would certainly not do their professional reputations any good.
Be that as it may, those that rule in this land have already embarked on a more sinister tack. Private criminal actions have been brought against Justice Claudette Singh, which gives no one any confidence that those behind the screen have changed direction. This move is nothing short of a disgrace, representing as it does an unvarnished attempt to intimidate the Gecom Chair into changing her position on declaring a result based on the recount. While as usual the cases have been brought by individuals no one in the local political firmament has ever heard of, citizens are in no doubt about who is behind them. Those who hide their faces will know very well that she is immune from lawsuits in relation to the discharge of her functions, and one can only marvel at how low they can go.
While on the one hand Ms Singh is subject to private criminal charges, the de facto President on Thursday retreated from an earlier statement when he said he “would abide by any declaration that the Chair makes in keeping with the laws of Guyana.” That had seemed to introduce a condition on his acceptance; however, he has now returned to his original position having told the media he would accept any declaration made by the Gecom Chair.
So what is the public to believe? That he is now prepared to accede to a declaration based on the recount, or that he is clinging to the belief that Justice Singh will change her mind so he would have no difficulty accepting her declaration? If the charges against her are not dropped, citizens will conclude that Mr Granger’s words simply represent more dissimulation.
As things currently stand Gecom is due to meet today. While some legal opinion is of the view that there is nothing now constraining the commission from making a declaration, the opposition commissioners, according to Ms Bibi Shadick, are likely to take a more cautious line. She told this newspaper that Gecom would first have to fire Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield and appoint someone in his stead, because any other action could provide grounds for the incumbent to challenge a declaration in court. We will have to await what emerges from this meeting.
Whatever the commissioners decide, the key figure in this whole epic remains de facto President Granger. Were he to come to terms with the real world and allow Gecom to do its work without interference, drop all court cases of whatever kind, keep hard-line Mr Harmon with his insults and wild talk away from the microphone and accept a declaration based on the recount, this country’s current electoral torment would come to an end. He could then, if so desired, assure his supporters the party would bring an elections petition.
An exhausted citizenry waits for him to begin to operate within the confines of the possible.
