Dear Editor,
Shocking and incredulous might be inadequate words to describe the outburst of Senator Roxanne Persaud in the august New York State Senate floor on the outcome of Guyana’s 2020 elections when she rose to commemorate Guyana’s 51st Republic anniversary last month. Senator Roxanne, representing 19th District in Brooklyn, lambasted US role in guaranteeing democracy in Guyana. Senator Roxanne came across mis-informed and mis-represented the outcome of the election as well as America’s role in it. Local and international observers, the media, diplomats and the global community of nations would not agree with her statement criticizing the US government that supported the democratic outcome. Apparently, she relied on biased information from and pandered to her base of support in Brooklyn rather than take an objective stand on democracy.
Somehow, because the US insisted that the APNU led coalition accept the democratic will of the voters, the Senator concluded that US decided the winner of the elections. She is plain wrong. The Guyana voters decided the outcome when they cast their ballots on March 2nd. I was in Guyana as a reporter and traveled around including spending time with foreign observers. The Chair of GECOM, diplomats, and international observers all praised Election Day procedures. Issues arose over the counting of ballots when APNU realized it had lost. Diplomats, observers, and the media urged APNU to present its SOPs. Elements within GECOM refused to use the official Statement of Polls to declare a winner of the elections. The matter was taken to the court. Chief Justice Roxanne George ruled in the High Court that the official statement of polls must be used to declare a winner. Representatives from ABCE, CARICOM, OAS, Commonwealth of Nations, UN, and other organizations and countries witnessed the attempt to flagrantly rig the election. The US and the international community simply asked that the will of the people of Guyana be accepted. The PPP/C, after five months of delay, was declared the winner on August 2. Clearly, Senator Roxanne made a terrible mistake to assail the US government for being a neutral observer in the election.
It is beyond comprehension why Senator Roxanne did not fact find her information on the election. She would have found out that CARICOM nations, rather than the US, played a significant role in helping to certify the outcome for GECOM. Senator Roxanne failed to mention that APNU refused to honor the outcome of a no confidence motion that it lost on December 21, 2018 that required elections by March 2019; that election was not held until a year later and only after the regime caved in to international pressure. In addition, there was an aversion to rule of law and other tenets of the constitution such as in the appointment of a Chair of GECOM. Instead of attacking the US, Senator Roxanne should have instructed APNU to adhere to constitutional principles and democratic norms. Guyanese praised the US and the international community role in securing the democratic outcome of the vote. To redeem herself, Senator Roxanne should read the judgments of the Chief Justice, the CCJ, as well as the recount reports from CARICOM and the remarks of all western diplomats. Guyanese, observers, media people, and Caribbean nationals are most disappointed in the Senator for her ill-informed remarks. She should correct her mis-statements about the election on the Senate floor as well as apologize for her mis-representation of the facts!
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
