Dear Editor,
As sickening as it was, if we thought the real problem was avoiding elections, we were wrong. The real problem is this government’s unmitigated assault on the sanctity of free and fair elections. The horrible delaying tactics only served to fully expose the politically corrupted den GECOM has become as they damaged the credibility of the electoral process. Imagine ‘credible elections’ were the laughable favorite phrase of President David Granger. After what has unfolded in the past year, I don’t know how in heaven’s name we can expect free and fair elections from GECOM without stark intervention from powerful forces like the ABC countries. Yes, having the former Canadian elections commissioner advising the Chairman of GECOM helps but in the absence of clear unadulterated language from the ABC countries demanding nothing less than free and fair elections, this maneuver risks being a nothing-burger as they say in the USA. An advisor is helpful but is not an impartial observer. There has to be more and it has to be forceful. We are still waiting on that admonition.
This government only listens to the ABC countries. They only respond when read the riot act by the ABC countries! It is time the ABC countries take the bull by the horns and bring the hammer down on GECOM and push them to get their act together before March 2020. There is a lot of time left to deliver this. The ABC countries have a lot to lose here if there is any tainting of the election. They have sunk US$ billions into Guyana’s oil industry. The Exxon deal is universally accepted as a bad one by supporters from both sides of the political divide. There is a significant opportunity for ABC countries to strengthen democracy with this election and to improve the perception and acceptance of their investment. Yes, the temptation is always to protect one’s investment. We all do that regularly with our personal investments.
However, nothing jeopardises the ABC countries’ investment like a tainted elections and its potential for internal anarchy and outside machinations using the cover of internal breakdown and fraudulent elections, especially with Russia and China watching closely and hell-bent on expanding their geopolitical reach in this very region while a US White House has gone supine amidst scandals. A long-term view has to override the short-term view. Right now, the long term advancement of this country democratically is the only safeguard to significant investments. Anything else is a dangerous gamble and a likely losing proposition.
I hope the ABC countries take a hard stand on the sanctity of these upcoming elections. The very existence of this country could be in jeopardy if the calculations are wrong and if laissez-faire recklessness prevails. Let’s be frank, a minority government is the best result for this country and its investors. It would force consensus and will motivate improvement within the political process and within parties to try to get the Holy Grail of majority power. It also blows my mind why the ABC countries have not insisted on this government returning to Parliament to make the kind of constitutional changes to protect the democratic foundations of the state before we got to elections. No investment is safe in an already failed state starkly divided and preyed upon by neighbours further broken by rigged or tainted elections.
Yours faithfully
M. Maxwell
