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The country is eagerly awaiting to see how this political drama will unfold
DEAR EDITOR,
It is clear that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is being used as the scapegoat for delaying national elections beyond the constitutionally stipulated time. This is a dangerous precedent, which certainly does not auger well for the future of democracy and the rule of law in our country. We seem to be going back to the days when the Elections Commission was a willing creature of the then PNC administration and was instrumental in the facilitation of fraudulent elections for a period spanning over two decades.
The country is now plunged into what many regard as a constitutional crisis. The body-politic has been dealt a severe blow by the stubborn refusal to abide by the dictates of the Constitution. This could have serious implications as to how we are viewed by the international community especially at this time when the country is on the cusp of realizing its new status as an oil producing nation.
History will judge us harshly if we allow the country to drift into the backwater of undemocratic states. In this regard, we all have an obligation to put country ahead of narrow partisan interests. Too much is at stake and it is therefore imperative that we rise above the political fray and demonstrate to the rest of the world that we have what it takes to move this country forward and in the best national interest.
It is evident by now that there is not going to be any elections before the life of this current List of Electors come to an end on April 30. In fact, the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission has written to President Granger informing him that GECOM would be unable to deliver credible elections before November of this year and has in fact proceeded to put in place the mechanisms for new house-to-house registration despite strong objections from Opposition-nominated Commissioners.
It boggles the mind that GECOM is unable to deliver credible elections within a three-month period, having only recently delivered a broadly acceptable Local Government Elections. In fact, the whole idea behind the introduction of Continuous Registration by GECOM a few years ago was to be in a position to update the National Register of Registrants (NRR) on a regular basis from which a List of Electors could be extracted to allow for any eventuality such as the one in which we now face. The requisite Claims and Objections mechanisms would then be automatically triggered once an elections date is announced by the President.
I am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that notwithstanding what is being submitted to President Granger, better can be done and elections can be held long before the timeframe given by GECOM.
The country, indeed the entire international community, is eagerly awaiting to see how this political drama will unfold.
Hydar Ally
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