The world is watching Guyana

CARICOM chairman Ralph Gonsalves says there is a small group of people, in and outside of Guyana, who are seeking to hijack the elections and ultimately the country.

Gonsalves, who is also prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, issued a strongly-worded address on Wednesday, which he described as a personal editorial on Guyana.

He said he is anticipating the chair of the Guyana Election Commission’s (GECOM) declaration of the results from the March 2 polls.

“It is long overdue,” said Gonsalves.

“In a normal functioning democracy, what should be a straightforward matter of counting votes has become the equivalent of a long-running soap opera, pregnant with real danger for the people of Guyana and the Caribbean community.

“This charade,” he said, “ought to be brought to an end immediately and a just declaration made by GECOM in keeping with the clear mandate delivered by the voters of Guyana and in accord with the Laws of Guyana and the CCJ’s (Caribbean Court of Justice) judgement.”

The disputed election results went all the way to the CCJ, whose ruling, in essence, cleared the way for GECOM chair retired Justice Claudette Singh to move for the declaration of the recount result, which showed the PPP/C alliance, led by Irfaan Ali, as the winner.

Gonsalves said since the delivery of the judgement, Singh has been seeking to bring finality to the elections. “Her central focus has been to get the valid votes as identified or defined by the CCJ. At every turn, GECOM has been frustrated by a recalcitrant Chief Elections Officer (Keith Lowenfield),” he said.

It is alleged that Lowenfield is among a group of mostly politicians whose visas were restricted by the US Department of State, as announced on Wednesday. The list also allegedly includes President David Granger and several other high-ranking politicians from Guyana.

Gonsalves continued, “Competitive elections deliver, necessarily, winners and losers. When you lose, you take your loss like a grown man or woman, and you move on peaceably to the role which the voters, in their collective wisdom, have assigned you.

“Caricom, the Organisation of American States, the European Union the Carter Center and other independent observers including those from Caricom, the governments of Canada, the UK, and the USA have pronounced on this matter, essentially with one voice. Yet, the dangerous games continue to be placed by a minority of persons associated with the political entity which has plainly lost the election. They are literally playing with fire, commotion, disorder, and civil war.”

Gonsalves said leaders, like himself and other within Caricom must not appear to be indifferent to and detached from the situation in Guyana.

“That magnificent country, Guyana, and its industrious people of the highest quality, are dear to us in Caricom. We are in solidarity with the people of Guyana; we defend on an ongoing basis the territorial integrity of Guyana. Today, Caricom defends democracy in Guyana; we defend the voters of Guyana; we are on the side of the angels in the stand-off between those who reject the people’s verdict and those who insist, properly, on its observance, recognition, formal declaration, and implementation.”

He said a rogue clique within Guyana cannot be allowed to disregard the unambiguous ruling of the CCJ with impunity.

Gonsalves added that he is concerned about “credible reports that persons, purportedly allied to certain political forces in Guyana, have been threatening, defaming, and verbally abusing leading personalities in the Caricom Secretariat, including the Secretary General, His Excellency Irwin La Rocque. This is wholly unacceptable.”

“Accordingly,” he said, “I publicly call upon His Excellency President David Granger, an honourable man, to denounce those who have been engaged in such threats, defamation, and verbal abuse. The voices of all decent men and women of democratic temper must join in the denunciation and condemnation of those whose nefarious agenda is antithetical to everything that is good and honourable in our Caribbean civilization. “These self-same vile and vulgar persons, having failed in their attempts to curse and bully Prime Minister Mia Mottley and former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur, and me, have now turned their demonic attention to senior staff members of Caricom and other reputable persons in Guyana and the Caribbean community.

“We must continue, fearlessly, to do the right thing. The evil of the anti-democratic brigands must not be allowed any space to triumph.”