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Why now?

Nov 16, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There must be concerns somewhere about whether the new government will rig the 2020 elections in Guyana as a means of holding on to political office.
Why else would the Stabroek News headline a story about declassified documents indicating that the western governments were reluctant to congratulate the Forbes Burnham administration after his party rigged the 1973 elections?
This is not new news. Similar declassified documents had long indicated that the United States had anticipated that the 1973 elections would have been and were rigged. The United States clearly stated then that its only interest in Guyana was concerned with denying Cheddie Jagan from coming to power. It also anticipated that the Forbes Burnham government would have used fraud, including ballot box stuffing, overseas voting and proxy voting to secure victory in those elections.
The United States bragged about supporting Burnham in 1964. Declassified documents did establish that the PNC did receive substantial support from the CIA. Declassified documents also revealed that it helped Burnham with his fraudulent election victory in 1968 when the PNC dumped its coalition partner the United Force.
The United States, however, subsequently took a decision that it would not approve any more dirty money for Burnham for the 1973 elections campaign. Neither would it help him to rig those elections. But it did anticipate that his government would rig those elections and it made no effort to impress upon him and his party that this should not happen. US primary national security concern was about keeping Jagan out and they did not mind if this was done by hook or crook. They however did not wish their fingers to get dirty.
The issue about not offering congratulations to Burnham therefore did not represent any major shift in US policy towards Guyana. The United States understood that Burnham’s reputation within the Non-Aligned Movement would have been hurt because of the rigging of the elections, the bulk of which took place while the boxes were under the control of the Guyana Defence Force.
The Guyana Defence Force has a dirty and shameful past when it comes to politics in Guyana.  It should use its 50th Anniversary to scrub clean some of those dirty stains.
The Stabroek News’ belated discovery of declassified documents published by Wikileaks is therefore not an earth-shaking development. That is old, sour news. The question is why would Stabroek News give such prominence to this story at this point in time?
Is history about to repeat itself? Is the PNC/R about to dump its coalition partners and rig its way to victory in the 2020 elections? The AFC has clearly been sidelined by the PNC/R. There are tensions between the WPA and the PNC/R with the former speaking out against the salary increases afforded to government Ministers and to Parliamentarians. Unfortunately, the AFC is not expressing the same degree of dissent with the ruling coalition of which it is a part. So that while tensions may exist, these tensions are not at a snapping point and the ruling coalition is not in any risk of falling apart.
Why then would Stabroek News find it necessary to resurrect such an issue at this time? Is it that there are concerns from within the United States camp that democracy can face a setback should the elections be rigged and there are also concerns about Guyana once again returning to the state of a pariah nation in the western hemisphere?
Local Government Elections were to be held in December. They have been pushed back to April of next year. These elections are going to be contested by the PPP/C which won seven of the 10 Regions at the last elections and which lost one Region by one vote. Local Government Elections are going to be held in the context of declining popularity of the new government.
Is the fear therefore, if as anticipated, the PPP dominates these Local Government Elections, that there is a risk of electoral fraud in the 2020 elections?
Such an eventuality is always possible but it is doubtful whether the international community would ever again allow for a government that emerged from rigged elections to be recognized. Guyana’s leadership is mature and sensible enough to appreciate that no government will be able to survive if it rigs elections. The international pressure will be too much.
However, old habits die hard. Just in case there is a need for a reminder as to what the international community expects of Guyana in future elections, the Staborek News article about the 1973 elections in Guyana serves as a timely reminder.

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