THE VOTERS OF GUYANA BROKE THE BACK OF ONE-PARTY, ONE-RACE RULE

Dec 04, 2011 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

---

It should be a matter of deep concern to all Guyanese that the Chief Elections Officer and the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) have rejected the demands of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). There was the demand that they demonstrate to the Guyanese electorate and to the world that the final results declared by the Chief Elections Officer were determined through a transparent process – one which tabulated the results on the basis of the statements of poll that recorded the result for each of the polling stations across Guyana.
It is for GECOM to convince the Guyanese public and the world that it managed the 2011 General and Regional Elections process in an even-handed and impartial manner.
Prior to E-Day, there was the remarkable silence of the GECOM Chairman on the numerous complaints by APNU and others about the blatant abuse of State resources by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration, particularly the media, which became the overt propaganda arms of the regime.
In fact, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, in its Preliminary Statement, stated, “As evidenced by the Media Monitoring Unit reports and expressed by a range of parties and stakeholders to the OAS, the current campaign period was characterized by a perception of a limited differentiation between the state and the governing party use of media and resources.”
The ink was hardly dry on the Code of Conduct for the Political Parties when the PPP propaganda and elections machinery continued to spew blatant racist statements and personal abuse of members of the contesting opposition parties.
It is because serious doubts had arisen about whether the management of the Elections was unbiased, based on substantiated allegations of unauthorized and illegal tampering with the ballot boxes and illegal alterations of the results as recorded on the statements of poll, that APNU insisted on a full and complete all-Party verification of the results, based on the reference to each of the statements of poll issued at each polling station.
The following are some of the pertinent observations made by the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, in their Preliminary Statement:
“After the close of the polls, the vote counting and transmission process suffered from significant delays. The mission considers it unfortunate that the smooth functioning of the process seen throughout the day was replaced by inefficient procedures and a lack of coordination in the processing and release of preliminary and final results.
“In addition, at 6 AM on November 29th, a significant discrepancy between the number of statements of poll received by the Returning Officer for Region Four and those processed at GECOM’s headquarters was observed.
“The OAS teams stationed at GECOM’s tabulation center in Georgetown observed at least two envelopes containing statements of poll being delivered by an unaccredited and unescorted individual. While the OAS has maintained a 24-hour presence in the tabulation center since the close of polls, the level of transparency and access to information regarding the process has not been as complete as that experienced by the mission prior to election day.”
As a consequence of the above, the Mission made the following recommendation:
“The mission recommends that additional mechanisms to ensure the security of electoral results are implemented throughout the course of the transfer of electoral materials between the regional offices and GECOM’s central tabulation center. These mechanisms should include the confirmation of accredited, escorted and previously identified individuals.”
There is clear evidence of a determined conspiracy, up to the last minutes preceding the Declaration of the Final Results, to award the PPP/C 52 per cent of the vote. On this one issue, better judgement was made to prevail and the plot was defeated.
On E-Day, Monday 28 November 2011, the Guyanese electorate came out enthusiastically in communities across Guyana to vote for the party of their choice. A large percentage of the voters were young, first-time voters who are becoming increasingly angry and distressed over what they have seen of the biased conduct of the whole process.
Among the first orders of business of the new Parliament, in which the PPP/C is in the minority, APNU will urge the immediate establishment of an independent International Commission of Inquiry into the conduct of the General and Regional Elections of 2011 and is ready to present its own findings to the Commission.
While the President without power has been sworn in, history will record that on 28 November 2011, the voters of Guyana, led by the young people, broke the back of one-party, one-race dictatorship. APNU salutes these young liberators who have cleared the way and strengthened the hand of APNU to pursue its goal of delivering a ‘Good Life for all Guyanese.’
APNU remains committed to giving life to Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution to build an inclusionary democracy, best expressed in a Government of National Unity.
We urge our supporters, especially the vibrant platoons of young militants, to remain focused, determined, mobilised and, above all, disciplined. The gains of 28 November 2011 will not be reversed!

---

---