Coalition’s latest ‘dictatorship’ tagline rubbished

The increasing instances of claims from members of the APNU+AFC Coalition of a Guyana being a “dictatorship” under the PPP/C administration reek of dishonestly, according to Vice President and General

Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo.

“Anybody who says we are a dictatorship – and we are in a free country, anybody can say that – but you got to be not just dishonest but like hyper, super, extremely dishonest. If you come from APNU and you say that, having known that they're tried to steal the election, it is sheer dishonestly,” he said during a recent news conference.

Notably, the Coalition’s Amanza Walton-Desir, on June 8, 2023, waxed lyrical, saying, “In Guyana we do not have a properly functioning system…we are confronting a PPP/C government that is a full blown dictatorship.”

Responding to what he termed “unfounded” comments, Jagdeo said, “Amanza Walton was part of that plot. She was at the convention centre, part of the plot to help to steal the 2020 elections…. speaking about Guyana is in a state of terror and hopelessness. When I travel around this country, people are the most hopeful now. When they lost, hope was in those five years when they lost thousands of jobs. They're the most hopeful now about our future. They're getting help, they see a government that's engaging, that's addressing their concerns, thousands of new jobs are being created, etc… and they talk about jobs too.”

Notably, the report from the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the General Elections of March 2, 2020, which was handed over the report to President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, on April 26, 2023 by Chairman of the CoI, Retired Justice of Appeal, Stanley John, exposed the “shockingly brazen attempts” to thwart the will of the people.

The ultimate goal of former officials of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield, Roxanne Myers and Clairmont Mingo, was the unlawful declaration of falsified results for Region 4, according to the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the March 2020 Elections. “From the totality of the evidence surrounding the RO’s declaration, there appears to be such collusion and collaboration between senior GECOM officials as to likely amount to a con - spiracy to make what was undoubtedly a premature and unlawful declaration of falsified results which showed the APNU/AFC party as the winner of electoral district No. 4. This was the ultimate goal of the CEO, the DCEO and the RO,” the report said on page 102. The report found that Lowenfield, Myers and Mingo were principally responsible for clear and deliberate attempts to frustrate, obstruct and subvert the ascertainment of votes in electoral district No. 4. The report made clear that Lowenfield’s actions must be condemned as the “ultimate betrayal of trust reposed in the highest election official in the land by the people” of Guyana. Myers, according to the report, arrogated powers to herself to undermine the declaration of valid results in Region 4. Mingo, according to the CoI report, resisted all efforts to have the correct course of action followed. At page 105 of the report, the APNU+AFC Coalition Scrutineer, Carol Joseph-Smith, was referred to. The report stressed that her signature of the unlawful declaration of false results for Region 4 on March 13, 2020 was as an “endorsement” of the illegal act by the Coalition. The international Commission of Inquiry made recommendations for changes in five years, including reform of GECOM’s structure, the legislative framework, the role of the private sector, campaign financing, and the role of the Guyana Police Force.

The tabulation of the results of the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections was marred by controversy and allegations of attempts to frustrate the democratic will of the electorate. This led to several legal challenges, both in the local and regional judiciaries, condemnation by international agencies and foreign countries, and an inordinate delay in the declaration of the results. After three months, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was declared to be the winner of the elections and sworn in on August 2, 2020.