Dear Editor,
On behalf of the General Contractors Association (GCAG), and our eighty-plus businesses we believe that a credible and fair election must not only be a priority to uphold our democracy in Guyana, but to give us a government that is credible, a government that people trust, a government that truly represents the will of the people.
We watch with concern the efforts and steps taken by the PPP/C to undermine the democratic process in Guyana by trying to force an election on a list that is not only invalid but also bloated, and open to massive electoral fraud.
At all costs, we must move forward with a list that is clean and that is credible. The decision to move forward with house to house registration is a game changer and a victory for our democracy. The worrying attempts by Irfaan Ali and his party, to shut down the only route to credible election should be raising concerns with the public, with businesses across the country and with international observers. It strengthens arguments that a clean election is not an election that the PPP could win.
Guyana does not need a government installed through illegitimate means, it needs a government elected on good, old fashioned merit, that works for both people and business. We simply cannot risk a government built on dishonesty in Guyana. A return to cronyism, deceitful tactics, and back-handers that defraud the public and the country of funds and value not only undermines the long-term business and investment case for Guyana, but makes any argument for the creation of jobs nothing more than rhetoric.
Never before have the risks been so high, particularly as we move forward to first oil production in Guyana. Never before has the requirement for a credible election been so pressing. Guyana needs an honest government, elected through an honest list, not a government elected through dishonesty and trickery.
Yours faithfully,
Colin Benn
President, GCAG
