Dear Editor,
I was stunned by the letter in Stabroek News of the 31 October 2024 with some barefaced allegations signed by the three Commissioners, handling the “business” of the PNC (actually, I’m not sure if its APNU or any of the name changes it attempted to change its imagine/ credibility, reimagining or to improve its consistently faltering support). Then again, isn’t one of those Commissioners the representative of a virtually nonexistent entity?
The three defied Local, Regional and International findings, opinions and evidence for five grueling and embarrassing (to Guyanese) months, in their parties’ attempts to reverse the will of the people. Guyanese would never forget the humiliation they had to endure, until, like in 1992, they had no option but to release their stranglehold on the Guyanese people and were forced to hand over the government, but not their SOP’s (up to more than four years after). But enough about 2020! The three would never see the light of day on that sordid episode. Let’s go back to 2015 which they mentioned.
I remember before the final results were announced, the PPP objected to the GECOM reported results of a number of ballot boxes, I remember the then Chairperson of GECOM, saying (and it was reported publicly) that he would consider recounting, at the PPP’s request, twenty two disputed ballot boxes. When this was not forthcoming, the number was reduced, and finally, the PPP said that it would ask for only five boxes to be recounted, and if it was found that GECOM’s numbers were correct, it would accept the results, but if the recount showed a difference, then the other “disputed” boxes should be recounted. The recount of even one box was never done.
Also glaringly shameful was that the PPP allegedly, lost by one vote in Region eight, and even there a recount was not allowed. No where in the world would this have occurred. What a disgrace! Do these three remember that, or do they also now have defective memories? Do they also have failed memories of the mysterious disappearance of responsible GECOM officials, who could not be located to conduct recounts requested by the PPP for certain disputed ballot boxes in region four? And what about the Chairman at that time? Can the Guyanese people have the benefit of your memory and comments, please?
The reason I’m raising this again, is that I know that there’s an election petition before the courts, which, even if heard and determined tomorrow, would have absolutely no effect, other than for academic and historical purposes. The ballots for those election, I understand are locked away in containers. Those ballot boxes can be used again (if not rotten by now) and the containers returned (are we paying rental for these) or re-used, saving millions of dollars, I’m sure.
My suggestion are: That GECOM agrees to recount all the ballot boxes for the 2015 elections. Should this not be considered favourably, and in the interest of compromise, then the twenty two ballot boxes identified by the PPP as having incorrect numbers should be recounted. This would prove, in my opinion, conclusively, who really won the 2015 Elections. The elections petition can then be withdrawn by the PPP, we learn from the past, move on as a nation, and continue to progress.
Sincerely,
Harry N Nawbatt