General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has commented that the actions of the APNU/AFC are hurting the prospects of the PPP/C entering into a power sharing agreement with the APNU/AFC coalition. Both the PPP/C and the APNU/AFC has controversially claimed victory in the March, 2, 2020 elections in Guyana, South America.
Jagdeo stated that if the coalition government had gracefully bowed out and accepted defeat in a dignified way, then it would have increased the chances of power sharing – something the APNU/AFC has been allegedly pushing for. These sentiments have also been echoed by the Guyanese Critic and several other public figures.
The APNU/AFC on March 4th declared themselves the winner of the March 2, 2020 elections. However, the declaration was met with strong protest and accusations that the Returning Officer of Region 4, Mr. Clairmont Mingo, had altered the figures of the SOPs when filling out the spreadsheet. This led to nationwide unrest, protests and even bloodshed. All international observers agreed with the opposition that the tabulation of Region 4 votes were not transparent or credible.
After a series of court actions by coalition supporters trying to block a recount, a recount was finally agreed upon which began on the 2nd of May, 2020. Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, had initially proposed a 156 days recount timeline. This proposal was met with strong resistance from the PPP/C, emerging political parties and international observers such as the OAS. It was finally agreed upon for a 25 days recount.
However, the APNU/AFC subsequently changed its narrative to suggest that the March 2 elections are not credible since the PPP/C had rigged the elections by having “dead and migrated” persons voting. This causes confusion as to why the government is trying to render an election invalid when they had earlier claimed victory in that election. On this note, when asked if he would accept a victory in the event that the recount proves that the APNU/AFC won the elections, Mr. David Granger responded, “I cannot answer that.”
At first, a representative of the APNU/AFC claimed that revealing these anomalies in PPP/C strongholds would give the coalition a win by a wider margin. However, in a subsequent statement, David Granger said that he is not expecting a landslide victory but a victory by a narrow margin, and hopes to share power with the opposition since it is the best way forward.
The ongoing situation in Guyana has been compared to a charade, masquerade and circus show by international media such as the Jamaica Observer.
