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"I have the power within me to become anything i want to become in Future. I will work hard and stay focused so that i can achieve my dreams"Together we can build A New Guyana We are committed to the fight against COVID-19.We encourage the government to take this opportunity for the health & well-being of the nation.We strongly urge that the government prioritizes the most vulnerable, pensioners, our elderly; Enable them to protect themselves.Workers will need to be paid; otherwise their households will not survive.This COVID-19 Pandemic will have reset the way societies and governments operate well before the worst has passed.This make-believe world that is being portrayed does not apply to the reality of life faced by the majority of the Guyanese people.

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India underscores importance of credible, transparent electoral process

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India on Thursday said it is closely following the developments related to elections in Guyana and asserted that it is important that the nation’s electoral processes are “credible and transparent”.

This is according to Mr Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry.

“We are following the developments with respect to elections in Guyana closely. As a democracy itself, and a time tested friend of Guyana, India would underline that it is important that Guyana’s electoral processes are credible, fair and transparent,” he said in response to media queries.

FM

Tabulation processes by Mingo were not credible – Commonwealth Observer Group

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Former Barbados PM, Owen Arthur was head of the Commonwealth Observer Group

Following is a full statement from the Commonwealth Observer Group which was deployed to Guyana to oversee the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections: 

The Commonwealth Observer Group to the 2 March 2020 General and Regional Elections was constituted and deployed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, following an invitation from the Government of Guyana. The Group withdrew from Guyana on 15 March 2020.

It is the clear and considered view of the Group that the tabulation processes conducted by the Returning Officer for Region 4, Mr Clairmont Mingo, were not credible, transparent and inclusive.

The series of events that the Group observed in the tabulation of Region 4 results between 3-14 March are of grave concern. Specific issues include:

  • The repeated cessation of the tabulation process for a variety of irregular reasons.
  • The Group did not observe any material or substantive impediments inside the tabulation room, which might have prevented the resumption of the tabulation process. It is the Group’s clear view that robust exchanges between political party agents in the room only occurred when the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) repeatedly halted the tabulation process.
  • The unlawful declaration made by Mr Mingo on 5 March at about 2pm, despite the tabulation process being halted.
  • The unlawful 5 March declaration of Mr Mingo was undertaken under heavy police guard; and his departure from the tabulation centre was guided and guarded by six police officers.
  • The continued failure of the Returning Officer, Mr Mingo, to comply with the 11 and 13 March orders and judgements of the Acting Chief Justice. On 13 March, The Chief Justice made it patently clear that actual statements of poll should be shown to entitled parties present. For the avoidance of doubt, the Acting Chief Justice demonstrated herself how this should be done and enquired “what was the difficulty in doing so” during the contempt of court proceedings.
  • However, on resuming the tabulation after leaving the Court on 13 March, Mr Mingo refused all requests from those entitled to be present to view the actual statements of poll and did not display the spreadsheet being populated. This compromised the process of ascertaining the credibility of the statements of poll relied on by Mr Mingo to tabulate the results; and, it was impossible for party agents and those entitled to be present to observe that the numbers being called out were being accurately entered on the spreadsheet.
  • In some cases, the tabulation totals announced by Mr Mingo on 13 March reflected more voters than were entered on the list of eligible electors for certain polling stations.
  • At no point did the leadership of the Guyana Electoral Commission halt or rectify these blatant instances of disregard for the rule of law and electoral ethics, despite its vested authority to independently ensure credible elections.

Despite the serious and persistent electoral malpractice observed by the Group from 3-14 March, the Group welcomed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) initiative, at the invitation of President David Granger, to deploy a High-Level Team to Guyana, to supervise a recount of the ballots. The Group notes with regret that the Team has now departed Guyana having been unable to complete their task.

The Commonwealth Observer Group commends the people of Guyana for peacefully exercising their right to vote for the Government of their choice on 2 March. This is a sacred constitutional and universal right. This right of the Guyanese people is respected when every vote is transparently and credibly counted.

In accordance with our Terms of Reference, the Group will submit its full report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will forward it to the Government of Guyana, the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, leaders of political parties, and to all other 53 Commonwealth Governments.

FM

Leslie Ramsammy

The threat of sanctions has began to bite. Let me be clear - everyone knew the results by sun up Tuesday morning March 3. The PPP had won in a landslide. All that was left was for the official declaration. People have began to speak out. CN Sharma’ party has now called for recount. Check out James Bond posts. Suddenly he is not opposed to recounts. What happened he is afraid of the people he told to mind their own business. Meanwhile Sharma’s party bring more disgrace on the WPA and AFC. Walter Rodney would have been ashamed his party is today part of thieving an election.

FM

Javed Shadick

On December 2, 2018, a budget of just over $300 billion was presented by the APNU/AFC Government. More than a year has passed and it is safe to conclude that most if not all of this money has been spent by the respected ministries.
Apart from the CCJ ruling, which has stated that the Cabinet is resigned, Article 104 of the Constitution has provided that there are no ministers after Elections Day.
The result, after March 2, 2020, is that Guyana has no functioning ministries because there is no money for the Permanent Secretaries to spend and no Ministers.
In light of the foregoing, the incumbent President sees it fit to meet with the resigned Cabinet and unconstitutional Ministers to spend whatever little money remains in wake of the Coronavirus.
A publication in the Official Gazette has given one of the unconstitutional Ministers powers equivalent to Hitler: Seek and Destroy.
A request, by another unconstitutional Minister, for US$5 million to give out to all ministries to be accessed with a blank cheque and without any tenders or accounts.
In the meanwhile we wonder where the real SoPs are stashed

FM
104. Articles 101 (1) and 103 (2) shall have effect in relation to any period between a dissolution of Parliament and the day on which the next election of members of the Assembly is held pursuant to the provisions of article 61, or between a dissolution of a regional democratic council or of the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs and the day on which the next election by that council or by the Congress is held pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) or (4) of article 60, as the case may be, as if Parliament of that council or the Congress, as the case may be, had not been dissolved.
FM

Since the 2nd of March, there is NO government, someone should remind the USED TO BE MINISTERS what they are doing, such as spending money and asking for money is FRAUD. Agreed, Granger is still President until the swearing in of a NEW President and that new president will appoint his cabinet.

  I wonder if the Roach knows when they will swear in Dr. Ali.

K

JOINT PRESS RELEASE BY POLITICAL PARTIES WHICH CONTESTED THE MARCH 2ND 2020 ELECTIONS

March 19, 2020: GEORGETOWN – The political parties signed hereto, welcome the call for a recount of Guyana's General and Regional Elections held on March 2, 2020, to allow for a declaration by GECOM in keeping with The Representation of the People Act Chapter 1:03 and Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2000.

The urgent need for a recount arises from unlawful and/or illegal actions, highlighted by the actions and declarations from the returning officer of Region 4, Mr. Clairmont Mingo, which also constituted breaches of relevant legislation and extant Orders of the Chief Justice.

Chairperson of GECOM, Justice (Ret'd) Claudette Singh on March 14, 2020, committed to having recounts done for March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

The global community, including CARICOM; Organization of American States; European Union; Commonwealth Secretariat; Carter Center, and their representatives: such as Caricom Chairperson and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and other Caribbean Prime Ministers; US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch; EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz CantÃģ; UK High Commissioner Greg Quinn, and Canadian High Commissioner Lillian Chatterjee and several reputable Guyanese have spoken out in favour of a recount and/or the need for a democratic transition.

In view of the foregoing, it is of paramount importance that the security of the containers containing the voting ballots be preserved. This is best achieved by all containers being stored at a central location and to permit party scrutineers to be on-site and guard against any tampering with the ballot boxes.

At the time of writing of this press release, the Container with Region 6 Ballots and the Container with the Region 4 East Coast Ballots are not stored at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre in Liliendaal, where all the other containers for the other regions and sub-regions are stored. We urgently request that this irregularity be corrected immediately.

The political parties signed hereto have jointly or individually applied as respondents to the interim ex parte injunction granted by the Honourable Justice Franklin Holder, which is set for hearing at 9:00 AM on Friday, March 20, 2020, at the High Court of Guyana. We feel strongly that the injunction is without merit as it seeks to undermine the clear statement made by the Chairperson of GECOM to have a recount of the votes, and the joint agreement signed by President David Granger and Opposition Leader, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

The parties take note of the important threats of sanctions from the international community in general and the ABCE countries in particular, which can include personal sanctions against all those who participated in the process to undermine democracy by acting outside of the rule of law.

We call on all Guyana to understand that the political parties outside of APNU-AFC are working for a peaceful and legal resolution to this situation and we remain committed to respecting the results emanating from the recount and for democratic norms to prevail.

We strongly support the statement from the US Department of State which emphasized that the people of Guyana deserve a credible election and transfer of power that reflects the will of the people in accordance with the laws of Guyana.

We call on the Guyana Police Force to act professionally to de-escalate ongoing tensions arising from the election process and to perform their duties in the best interest of all Guyanese.

The parties call on all citizens of Guyana to remain calm and peaceful as these matters continue to engage the attention of the Courts, and as we continue to work with the local and international community to ensure the recounting of the votes cast at Guyana's General and Regional Elections held on March 2, 2020.

Signed
CG
PPP/C
URP
ANUG
TNM
TCI

FM

Robin Singh

5 mins after I made a post about the weeding at night it ended. Considering that same crew worked until 11.45 PM last night, I found it disconcerting. Added to the very real scenarios of plans to breach the ballot box containers and destroy the contents being peddled by security experts, I feel compelled to call on Leslie James, our Commissioner of Police to recognize that the sole responsibility for the security of the ballots lie on his shoulders. The World is waiting for us to deliver credible electoral results, failing which our people will be cast out from the fraternity of nations. The responsibility to prevent Guyana becoming a Rogue Nation begins with the CoP.

FM

I think that Django and a lot if not all in the Coalition were under the misconception that the PPP support while visibly strong in the two LCEs was not going to be replicated in the GRE so they did not devise any really evil plan to obstruct the actual outside of Granger and his cabal delaying the elections date. But once the votes began to come in and they had some time to tabulate all the votes including the ones in region 4, they came to the frightening realization that they were just a one term government and they decide that they have no other option but to either pull some wool over everyone which didn't work or delay until they have a chance to compromise the actual ballots. This banna weeding grass that doesn't even exist is one more attempt to compromise those ballots.

In retrospect, the PPP did the PNC a huge favor by not holding LGEs since 1994. Imagine how demoralizing it would have made the PNC if the same trend shown in 2016 and 2018 were demonstrated in the years when it was not held. It should teach these people to be careful what they wish for.

FM

They were surprised at the rout at the polls. Even Region 4, PPP gained more of the increase than the PNC. They underestimated the effectiveness of the PPP ground game. The PPP gained with the youths of all races.

I still remember saying the PNC came off with a whimper. Django and Totax said not so, it’s all quiet and surprise will show March 2.  

Well, guess the were right, but for the wrong reasons.

FM

 

Excellency,
As a retired diplomat and technocrat Minister for Foreign Affairs who has served every government and President since Guyana’s independence, I believe I have earned the right to express to you the concerns which I have over the current crises, both global and national, as well as the disastrous impact which they may have eventually on our country and its people. I believe that you know me well enough to accept my message as impartial, sincere, and intended only to prevent a descent into anarchy.
Not unnaturally, one of my greatest fears is that, having worked for a lifetime to build close and cooperative relations between Guyana and the international community, the resounding furore which followed the recent election and projected us abroad as a racist and undemocratic polity, will most likely reduce our current prestigious world standing to pariah status and public scorn. Not only our domestic policies but also our international initiatives will be seen as mere charade.
As we have seen, governments and individuals who refuse to comply with the rules and norms of responsible governance are routinely condemned by others - both states and international organizations - and face the sanctions reserved for those found guilty of “non-compliance.” Unfortunately, the weight of these sanctions is hardly felt by the rich and the powerful; who have the resources to withstand the impact of the measures imposed rather; it is the poor and disadvantaged people of our country who must suffer the consequences of malfeasance by their rulers. Increasingly, some of the transgressors have been hauled to The Hague for trial before the International Criminal Court and brought to justice for “crimes against humanity.”
Having met you on several occasions and read some of your public statements, I was persuaded that you were committed to take Guyana forward in a united effort to secure our peace and prosperity. It seems, though, from media reports, that your intentions appear to have been thwarted by “forces” within your party. Rumour has gone so far as to suggest that there is a conspiracy, a cabal of your collaborators, who have other aims in mind. Indeed the Chairman of Caricom is reported as believing that this is so. (See her statements to the media). I say no more.
I would like to urge you, to remain faithful to your promise. With the collaboration of all patriotic Guyanese, you may be able to help to remedy the negative publicity which has become a major obstacle to progress in our national life. I believe that considerable damage was done to the Caricom offer of attempting a reconciliation of the parties and to the role of International Observers who had been invited to monitor the elections. As a Guyanese citizen, I could not help but be shocked and ashamed by the treatment meted out to these important personalities by some petty officers involved in the Gecom process. This animosity will probably alienate these representatives from any further participation in any mediation endeavour. Worse yet, the unflattering impressions which many of these dignitaries have formed of our conduct will be hard to erase and will deter any improvement in our relations with our own regional body and indeed the rest of the world.
In the book which I presented to you recently – “The Guyanese Culture: Fusion or Diffusion?”, I have tried to identify some of the reasons for the sad state in which we find ourselves as an independent nation : (1) The psychological damage inflicted by slavery and colonization (divide and rule) (2) a weak and backward political culture – (after years of independence, we are still a nation of warring tribes (3) growing racial division cultivated and exploited by unscrupulous politicians who see it as a means of gaining political power and an opportunity for self-enrichment (4) an unstable economic and social environment (5) the replacement of political democracy by political demagoguery (6) the lack of a positive cultural identity and intolerance of otherness and (7) many inept politicians and officials who are incapable of managing the affairs of their constituency – a small nation of some 700,000 people. This is only a partial diagnosis; other explanations abound and should be taken into consideration.
These challenges will not be easily overcome. It will take good governance by the political leadership with the full support of an informed and civil population to demolish the obstacles to true democracy. The writing is on the wall; unless there is meaningful change in our political culture, we will be washed away by the sea of change which is now on the rise. I remain, hopeful though, that those who hold the reins of power will come together to save our people, many of whom are sick and tired of being misled by their “democratically” elected leaders.
I pray that our two main political parties will unite to transform our society so that all races can be assured of equity, social justice, mutual respect and the protections of the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana. Unless an equitable order is brought into existence, there will be no unity in our land.
With best wishes to you and your colleagues to arrest our decline into chaos and restore peace and security so that we may live free from fear and want.
Yours sincerely,
S.R Insanally

P.S.
Since the matter which I have raised in this letter are of concern to the Guyanese people, I have decided to open it to the media.

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I think that at the time Mingo faked his illness, the APNU had not known as yet that they had lost the elections. No doubt the APNU had the same SOPs that the PPP used to tabulate their votes but because of the gross incompetence of the PNC staff, they were slow to finish tabulating theirs. It took them many more hours than is necessary to do a quick pivot table of the data. So to their horror, they found out that the PPP whooped their asses and suddenly Mingo received a phone call and immediately after receiving that phone call he became ill (the virus came over the phone). But while he left on a stretcher, he came back shortly walking on his own will. As Dr Anthony remarked yesterday, Mingo's doctor must be a miracle worker.  In Mingo's absence, they kicked it into plan B. The grand surprise that Django has been alluding to for months now when he would say that a big surprise is coming and all we PPP supporters should stock up on towels to dry our tears. He said that we will be crying for a long time.  But the PNC still stuck in Burnham era times and crookedness never realized that the world had entered the 21st century so their 20th century rigging was grossly outdated and very easy to spot and record for posterity. Now they all choking on gander eggs. 

FM

Ramjattan left the PPP because they did not accept his proposal to change the Party's image from a Marxist/Leninist one.   He is now condoning and supporting the rigging of elections which he once cried about. This man is a total failure and to think that Granger had nominated him for Prime Minister, which he is incapable of performing ithe duties, is beyond my  comprehension.

R

Guyana’s dodgy poll is all about oil

If the election is stolen, the windfall will surely be squandered

LeadersMar 19th 2020 edition

Guyana is minuscule. Its population of 780,000 is roughly that of Seattle. But it has recently struck oil. ExxonMobil, which holds the biggest share of the licence to the first productive offshore block, reckons that 8bn barrels can be pumped out of it. That puts Guyana’s reserves among the world’s top 20. Petrodollars could soon transform Guyana from South America’s third-poorest country into one of the richest.

The power to begin spending that bonanza was at stake in the general election held on March 2nd, the first since oil started flowing. The weeks since have been chaotic. No overall result has been declared. The opposition and outside observers suspect that the president, David Granger, lost his bid for re-election. He may be plotting to have himself sworn in for a second term regardless. The danger to democracy is obvious. A government that lacks legitimacy would be more likely to squander Guyana’s newfound oil wealth.

 

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