Dear Editor,
A recent press release issued by the APNU+AFC has come as no surprise. Their shameless piece of wordsmithing has reaffirmed what has been known long ago; the coalition has no interest nor intention to participate in National Stake-holders’ Forum to be held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, to discuss the draft amendments to the electoral laws of Guyana. The APNU+AFC statement coincides fully with the dilly dallying posture adopted by the opposition commissioners at GECOM towards the holding of Local Government Elections (LGE) thus they seek to use their rejection of the timely and useful public consultation organized by the Ministry of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs as a smokescreen to cover their sinister motives.
This is yet another a lame manifestation of bravado and a poor attempt at pretending to be defenders of free and fair elections when the whole world knows that it is the other way around. It is clear that the APNU+AFC do not want Local Government Elections since it will expose their weak and degraded underbelly in so far as their electoral fortunes are concerned. What the APNU+ AFC want is regional and general elections held exclusively under their hobbled together terms and conditions, using international best practices, which they themselves blatantly ignored and pushed aside following the 2020 election and the months that followed. All the measures they have called for in their press statement, cumulatively, is aimed at bypassing Local Government Elections (LGE) and to bully their way to a General and Regional Elections held in accordance with their diktat. That will not happen.
In the circumstances, there are two options open to the APNU+AFC, to boycott LGE and to resort to their well-known street tactics which the nation has long recognized as the hallmark of the PNC, the most influential in the coalition when they in particular do not get their way. This time around however, they should think twice about their threats to engage in such activities, since it is hardly likely to make any impact nor push the government away from its chosen path. The PNC and it’s cohorts in the APNU+AFC have never had any interest in free and fear elections. Their track record since 1968, would show, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the multiple local and external shenanigans they have resorted to rig an election thus denying the Guyanese electorate the right to have a government of their choice by engineering an outcome that gives them a majority in the National Assembly and control of the Executive, even if it means purposely miscalculating what a majority of 65 would be.
A clean voters list, removal of the deceased from the list nor preventing persons who are constitutionally entitled to vote at a Regional and General elections will not deliver power to the APNU+AFC. The numbers across ethnic lines have moved by leaps and bounds into the camp of the PPP/C, the process continues inexorably. It is a process the APNU+AFC cannot hold back. The APNU+AFC could preach as much fire and brimstone as they wish and they may issue as many threats at destabilization and burnish their political propaganda with race hate as they may, but the truth will always prevail. And just as we are on the eve of celebrating the Festival Of Lights 2022, it is the hope and expectation of all Guyanese that the dark shroud which the APNU+AFC seeks to throw over Guyana will be overtaken with the brightness of light, with rays of hope and inspiration in a future that holds so much for our country’s future!
Sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee
Commissioner, GECOM
