Dear Editor,
A few things have become abundantly clear over the past month, but bear repeating at this time, the one-month anniversary of the March 2, 2020 elections:
(1) the Granger-led APNU+AFC coalition have no intention of willingly relinquishing power; (2) despite her public utterances and affidavit filed in the High Court, GECOM Chairperson, Ms. Claudette Singh, has shown a fundamental disregard for the people of Guyana; (3) GECOM staff that were involved in subverting the democratic mandate of Guyanese continue to be paid by the state; (4) GECOM continues to be the most willing participant in the APNU+AFC shenanigans; (5) the ballot boxes, the last unadulterated evidence of the elections, remain vulnerable; (6) the dreadful Covid-19 pandemic has come as a gift to the Granger regime; and (7) the Granger regime intends to exploit the Court process and Covid-19 in an effort to (a) prolong its hold on power; (b) provide further opportunity for mischief at GECOM; and (c) condemn Guyanese to the tyranny of its abuse and the vagaries of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reasonable and rational people who genuinely believed that they won the 2020 elections would be falling over themselves to urgently demonstrate their success to the world. Instead, here we are, a month later, and the Granger regime is falling over itself to prevent Guyana and the world from seeing its success at the ballot boxes. How ironic!
I believe that the Granger administration anticipates a reduction in Western and global interest in a democratic transition in Guyana, given the world’s preoccupation with the Covid-19 pandemic. Alternatively, they may be angling for a deal like the one recently offered by the Americans to Venezuela. Hopefully, the Granger regime and its enablers can get urgent medical care for entertaining such delusions.
The Granger regime’s legal strategy is transparently obvious – pursue vexatious legal proceedings for as long as possible. The Full Court in its unanimous verdict removed the legal obstacles to a recount of the votes, refused to grant a stay of its decision, and refused to grant leave to appeal its decision. This amply demonstrates the futility of an appeal – that there are no legal, logical or rational grounds for success.
However, despite the Full Court’s decision, the Granger regime has now hedged its bet on the Court of Appeal. It intends to frustrate the electoral process with legal proceedings, as it previously did with the appointment of Mr. Patterson as the Chairperson of GECOM and the No Confidence Motion (NCM).
Its reasoning is that at minimum, the Court of Appeal may grant a stay. It may be also entertaining the hope that the Court of Appeal may overturn the Full Court verdict. In the unlikely event that this occurs, and given the public interest in ascertaining the outcome of the March 2, 2020 elections, an appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) would be mandatory. This is where things get interesting: the CCJ, in a Covid-19 advisory on its website, has indicated that, its offices will be closed from 30 March 2020 until further notice. Hopefully, this does not prevent an urgent appeal hearing at the CCJ. It would be a tragic day if Covid-19 becomes the sword on which democracy dies in Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Kowlasar Misir
