Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 03, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
Today is the second anniversary of one of my piercing traumas in life. It began on this day two years ago with Jerry Gouveia as our guest at Kaieteur Radio alongside journalist, Leonard Gildarie.
Whenever I hear the name and voice of Mr. Gouveia and see his face, I think of what a political failure I have been and what a mess Guyana is. It was Tuesday, March 3, at midday in the studio. There were rumours flying like crazy that something eerie was going on with the election.
I remember Gouveia’s words vividly. As he spoke, my heart fell out of my chest and suddenly I felt numb. This was not what my life has come to. This is not what Guyana has come to. Mr. Gouveia explained that GECOM officials were not counting the votes that remained to be tabulated.
He said they just stopped working and no one knows why. He left the studio saying he was going to monitor the situation along with the US Ambassador. Gildarie and I knew that there were attempts taking place to derail the elections. I will never forget those words of Mr. Gouveia. They will haunt me to my grave.
As the days in March dragged on, there was nothing else but déjà vu in front of me – déjà vu of 1968, 1973, 1978 and 1985. I wasn’t in Guyana for the rigged 1980 general election. How could this happen after 1992. In 2011, Guyana underwent momentous electoral transformation. The PPP after winning four times, lost its majority in 2011. It lost again in 2015.
I campaigned for the AFC in 2011. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign of 2015. There were hilarious moments I will never forget. Since the incident of the clerk to the Speaker of the House, Ean McPherson, and the Mace incident is still in the news, I would like to digress briefly about him and my memories of 2015.
Ean nicknamed “Kitchen Cop” was assigned as my security detail. I was the lead speaker at what is commonly called the Timehri turn when a man was heckling me madly from across the road. “Kitchen Cop” went across to the man and I won’t describe what happened. I was in a depressed mood for days fearing that the Chronicle would highlight the issue and I would be wrongly blamed because I am not that kind of person. It was from the 2015 campaign I got to know Ean who remains a friend.
In 2015, the Guyanese political landscape had now become a modern polity –parties will win, then lose, then win again. Contestants now have a chance to have power. Much to the credit of the PPP, there was no post-election violence in 2011 and 2015.
In 2020, a volcano erupted in this country. Jerry Gouveia made me sad on March 3 but my experience in Guyana since I was a teenager galvanised me in ways that could only be described as emotions running insanely. I was not prepared to let Guyana go through rigged election again. My wife saw it and she should not go through that again. My daughter never witnessed it and like countless others should never have to live with permanent power. I lectured myself that I will use my pen every day to denounce rigging and that is what I did from March 3 to July 31.
Today is the second anniversary of this volcanic eruption. I will never stop writing about this day whenever it comes around. I will do so every March 3 until I no longer have the opportunity to write. It was a horrible day and words cannot describe how I felt.
The rigging of the March 2020 election has changed this country profoundly. It will take a long time to heal. The rigging of the March 2020 election has taught all of us who are over 60 years and more that hidden deep beneath the inner recesses of this nation were dark minds we never knew existed.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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