Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 27, 2020 Letters
Dear Editor,
At this point it is too painful to not see the attempts by the PNC to sabotage the electoral process. Please note I said PNC and not “APNU+AFC” as it is clear that the Kabaka disciples are running the coalition. The AFC is dead, a breadcrumb long flicked away. First the recount took a while to take off the ground due to the (in my opinion at least) PNC propping up Ulita Moore to block the recount.
Next, we saw President Granger reject the Carter Center observers, politicizing COVID-19 as an excuse. Now, as more boxes continue to be recounted, more and more we see how Mingo’s numbers were inflated to favour the PNC (and in some cases deflate the PPP’s numbers). Now they have moved onto their next trick: Aiming to void the election and apply for a doctrine of necessity through the courts to appoint an interim Government. They will use the pandemic as an excuse to rule the country until another election is held. However we, the people of Guyana, are waiting on the PNC to produce evidence of any voter fraud that took place. In fact, we are still waiting on them to produce their Statements of Polls.
Let us take a look at their nonsensical “voter fraud” campaign. On a post made on their Facebook Page the “coalition” claims that of the 699 ballot boxes examined on May 22nd there have been 86,367 votes “lacking credibility”. I’m not making this up, they did. Their line of thought is that if so much voter fraud is uncovered in just 699 of the boxes, what will be uncovered in the other 1640 boxes? This is where things resemble a Looney Tunes cartoon. If massive voter fraud is “uncovered” in the remaining fraction of boxes this would mean everyone single PPP agent and APNU agent at the polling stations deliberately turned a blind eye to the electoral process in some elaborate scheme by the PPP to rig the elections-which still resulted in an APNU victory. The only gain from this hogwash is continued brainwash of their blind supporters, who they will utilize for a recreation of ’98 PNC election violence when the recount shows they lost. I really have no words left to comment on it. Instead I will quote Odo himself by saying “You must pull a rabbit out of the hat every time”.
Moreover, I feel with all this malarkey taking place we should remember two lesser known freedom fighters: The Ballot Box Martyrs. They may not be remembered by the youths of today so I have chosen to enlighten them, and anyone else. During the 1973 rigged elections, military troops were known for seizing the ballot boxes and taking them to GDF headquarters where they were stuffed to ensure a Burnham victory. At No. 63 Village on the Corentyne, noisy protests ensued upon the troops arrival, prompting the troops to open fire, injuring many and killing two: Jagan Ramessar,17 and Parmanand Bholonauth , 45. Jagan’s treatment was harsher than Bholonauth’s. He didn’t die immediately. Instead, he was seriously wounded from the shooting and received no medical attention. The police and GDF soldiers transported him to the No. 51 Police Station where he died after further physical brutality from the police and soldiers.
Hearing this incident made me sit and think. Jagan was ONLY 17. He and I are around the same age. If he were alive he would’ve probably retired with lovely grandchildren by now. But alas he is not, all due to protesting the great PNC rigging of ’73. Those two individuals died protesting an authoritarian rule then, as we are now. Ironically, this election fiasco has run into May, a month where all Guyanese celebrate freedom from authoritarian rule, even though currently another is trying to gain foothold. While the recount goes on to prevent a perversion of adult suffrage I strongly feel that we should think of the ballot box martyrs, honour them with at least a thought. Say their names: Jagan Ramessar and Parmanand Bholonauth! For they were fighting for freedom too, freedom from an authoritarian rule. Here we are in 2020, same old story. All I can do is sit back and wait for more episodes of the explosive new television show, “Guyana: Election Hell”.
Yours truly,
Nikhil Sankar
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
Apr 19, 2024
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