Dear Editor,
I have read the public statement by the AFC on the GECOM chairman appointment tragedy and I must respond to three points contained therein. First, the AFC stated that it “played no part in the selection process”. This statement is profoundly revealing in that it shows without question that since the APNU or President Granger chose not to consult them on a critical national and current matter then the AFC is seen and/or treated as an irrelevant partner in this purported Coalition government.
Second, the AFC said it “holds GECOM to the highest standards of electoral integrity and will stridently challenge any threats to the preservation of democracy”. The ludicrousness and absurdity contained in that statement is both monumental and disturbing at the same time. How can the AFC imagine that it could hold GECOM to the highest standards of electoral integrity and will stridently challenge any threats to the preservation of democracy when it is not even capable of holding the APNU to the terms agreed in the Cummingsburg Accord? How can the AFC hold GECOM to the highest standards of electoral integrity when it admits it had zero say in the selection of the Elections Commission Chairman and more importantly all of the non-opposition Election Commissioners are not AFC – Vincent Alexander (PNC), Charles Corbin (PNC and brother of former leader of the PNC), Sandra Jones (friend of Granger)? How?
Third, the AFC stated that it condemns the Opposition Leader for his “reckless and unpatriotic stance of non-cooperation and civil disobedience and the party will hold him personally accountable for the consequences of any civil unrest which may ensue.” Let there be no uncertainty that the Leader of the Opposition is not speaking on behalf of himself but as the Leader of the Opposition which represents all of Guyana and as General Secretary of the single largest and most popular party in this country and this country’s history.
The AFC is sleepwalking into an immediate oblivion and they do not even see the omens of their demise. The old saying in politics is that “you are only relevant so long as you are useful”. When the PNC or APNU sees that the AFC will not be able to deliver the required share of votes at the next election why would a Coalition ticket with the AFC be useful? The March of Folly continues!
Yours faithfully,
Charles S. Ramson
