Dear Editor,
In view of the current political stalemate and anticipated crisis in Guyana, where a barefaced and prolonged attempt to steal the will of the Guyanese electorate by the losing coalition in order to impose itself on the people by remaining in power, we the defenders of democracy plead with all the ABCE, EU, OAS, CARICOM countries and like-minded others, to stay the course you have been engaged in since March 2nd 2020, in your strong defence of democracy in Guyana.
We further plead with you to request your respective governments to impose immediate and harsh personal sanctions against all already identified participants and enablers currently engaged in the rigging of elections in Guyana. We are aware of and we support an earlier hand delivered petition by the late Randy Depoo to the US Embassy in Georgetown which called for personal sanctions. Sanctions were promised and must continue to be on the table and to be applied without delay. The 6,500 signatories to Mr Depoo’s petition must not go in vain.
You must be aware that since elections were held, there were no less than four documented attempts by the compromised Elections Secretariat (GECOM) to submit fraudulent tallies of votes cast to the Elections Commission in disgraceful attempts to declare the losing coalition the winner of the March 2nd elections. None of those four submissions of the secretariat matched the certified SOPs and certified SORs of the election, which were observed by accredited and independent local and foreign observers. Every observer mission stated that valid votes were placed in the ballot boxes.
Ignoring every call to submit the valid votes cast as per the recount, the chief election officer now claims that it is within his authority to prepare and submit his final report using his own made up bogus numbers and that he is answerable to nobody. They are hellbent on stealing the election.
No more precious time must be wasted as the incumbent administration to date has shown no signs of wanting to peacefully concede power. In fact, the coalition seems to be digging in deeper as their propaganda machinery is currently telling the Guyanese people that they have won the elections. Manifestations of unrest are beginning to appear. Personal attacks and ridicule are being directed brazenly to anyone including diplomats and foreign leaders who dare to speak the truth about the coalition’s ongoing rigging exercises. It was only recently that the squatting Prime Minister was on social media making false accusations against the United States. It is widely believed in Guyana and in the diaspora that local democratic forces alone will not be able to have a democratically elected government installed in Guyana. The entire world must act decisively and act now to help out.
When one observes recent actions/inactions of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), and to some extent recent rulings of the judiciary, one cannot help but be suspicious of certain biases in favour of the coalition; the hopes and trust of the people are all but lost. And one cannot ignore recent statements of the caretaker president in addressing the military when he talks about loyalty. With much thanks to all the foreign diplomats, who have been fully engaged and proactive thus far, and to the CCJ, which has exhibited impartiality and professionalism, there is a ray of hope albeit not guaranteed, that democracy will succeed in the end.
The helping hand of all democratic governments and democratic institutions are essential for democracy to remain alive and to prevail in Guyana as the coalition could well disregard any judgement of the CCJ against them. Another Venezuela-like situation must not be allowed to fester in this beautiful republic. Guyana needs you now. Do not be dissuaded by the vile attacks of a few as many around the world are behind you with their strong support.
Currently circulating on change.org are two petitions originating out of Brampton ON, dedicated to this struggle; (‘Supporting the foreign diplomats championing democracy in Guyana’ http://chng.it/FBbFBmjVPh) with over 3,250 signatures and ‘ (Fire or suspend Keith Lowenfield as CEO of GECOM’) with over 4,700 signatures and growing.
Let democracy triumph.
Yours faithfully,
K. Ramprashad, N. Megnauth, S. Bernard, H.
Ragnauth, R. Persaud, S. Alexander, N. Hanif, A.
Singh, B. Benimadhu
DEMOCRACY WATCH 2020
Brampton/Toronto ON