Dear Editor
President Irfaan Ali has tasked the newly formed Commission on the 2020 elections with submitting the findings into its inquiry within seven months. Your newspaper report stated that the inquiry will “zoom in on District Four”, because this was the “epicentre” of the rigging (9/15/2022). I have not seen the Terms of Reference (TOR) of this COI, but it is impossible for the Commission to ignore the related events, including the racially targeted violence on West Coast Berbice, that occurred five months after the national and regional elections were held. I repeat what I wrote on June 23, 2022.
“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
