Anatomy of a Coup

May 31, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

The January 6 Select Committee of the US House of Representatives, after nine months of investigations, is expected to hold public hearings shortly and to present compelling evidence regarding the planning and execution of a conspiracy to overturn the November 2020 election of President Joe Biden. The entire world witnessed, on television, the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 and has since learnt, through Congressional investigations, investigative reporting, media interviews and the publication of books, that this was only part of a much wider conspiracy, very likely directed by former President Trump, aimed at undermining the democratic process, overturning a valid election result and retaining the incumbent President in office. Many respected persons, including former Republican Congressman David Jolie, has characterised the plot as a “failed authoritarian coup”, and Michael Cohen (Donald Trump’s former layer) has said that “anybody who doesn’t think it’s a coup is a kook”.

In addition to the work of various congressional committees, the US Justice Department has arrested and charged over 750 persons with crimes associated with the insurrection at the Capitol in what has been described as “the largest criminal prosecution in the history of the USA” and has broadened its investigation to include the wider conspiracy. The Jan 6 Select Committee has also made criminal referrals against several high-ranking Trump allies, including his Chief-of-Staff and members of Congress. Also, some persons, including former President Trump, are under investigation in various states for election-related criminality and others face billion dollar lawsuits in civil court for their roles in this affair.

As, the almost daily disclosures are publicised in the US media, it has become quite clear to me that most of the elements of the US coup share similar characteristics with many of the events surrounding Guyana’s March 2, 2020 elections, and that even a casual comparison of the two elections, seven months apart, would reveal an anatomy of a coup with several similarities in method, the only differences being in objective (one to overthrow a President, the other to keep him in power) and the degree of foreign involvement in both.

The two main elements of a coup d’etat are typically the illegal seizure (or attempted seizure) of power and the employment, or threat, of violence, both of which are present in the US and Guyana 2020 elections with the latter possibly serving as a dry-run for the former.

Some of the similarities in method include the following:

– claim, prior to the election, that your opponent is planning to steal the election, and that if you lost that was proof of their fraud;

– threaten demonstrations and violence if results are unfavourable;

– after the election, and before results are certified, spread misinformation, demand investigations and institute legal proceedings to create the perception of fraud, to delay an official declaration and to gain the time to exert maximum pressure;

– urge supporters to stop the steal, fight like hell to protect democracy and take back your government and country;

– pressure the incumbent to concede the election before an official declaration is made through threats of sanctions and other forms of violence, or conversely, refuse to concede if you are the incumbent, even after an official declaration; and

– pressure authorities not to certify valid results and to change the system for determining election results and to substitute desired results.

It is generally true that successful coups are never investigated and, unlike the USA where the Congress, state and federal authorities have launched investigations to determine whether laws were broken, Guyanese are still waiting, almost two years after the elections were concluded to learn if our Elections Court will look into claims of electoral malpractice here. The fact that the Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GECOM, as well as the Returning Officer of Region 4 were all criminally charged, and subsequently dismissed, is not evidence of criminality on their part. The election petition must be heard even though you can expect supporters of the coup will do everything in their power to prevent this. Just as Americans deserve to know what happened in their country, Guyanese deserve to know what happened here also.

Sincerely
Oscar Dolphin

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