Dear Editor,
I congratulate President Infaan Ali for establishing the Commission of Inquiry (COI) to probe into the events surrounding the 2020 general elections. Commissions generally report findings, give advice and make recommendations. A COI can provide some guidelines into how the problems surrounding the last election can be avoided in the future. It is hopeful that at least two things will become an integral part of this COI. One, the terms of reference should ensure that the scope of the investigation extends beyond the shenanigans of GECOM and allow for an examination of the pre- and post-electoral events, including the events on West Coast Berbice. Second, while the recommendations of the COI may not be binding, it is hopeful that political leaders will seriously act on the COI’s recommendations to ensure, as much as possible, that similar events like those associated with the 2020 elections, do not become a repeated occurrence, and another national trauma. The assumption, of course, is that at the end of the day, everyone involved, the government and the opposition, will consider this opportunity as a turning point to collectively move the nation forward.
Sincerely,
Baytoram Ramharack