Dear Editor,
An old adage says, “A drowning man will clutch at a straw”, and this is what the Opposition parties are doing.
Besides their usual ‘corruption’ shibboleth, they are now presenting new non-issues, such as the need for biometrics; ‘foreigners voting’; and irrelevant issues such as renegotiation and referendum in regard to the oil and gas sector.
When the Coalition was in Government from 2015 to 2020, it never saw the need for biometrics, and had no issue with ‘foreigners’ voting at the general elections, since it had complete control over GECOM – from the Chairman to the CEO and his deputy, to some Returning Officers and to other officials. Coalition parties were never in doubt about their innate ability to rig elections. It was ingrained, nurtured, and honed to perfection since 1968; but, in 2020, they underestimated the PPP/C and all democracy-loving organizations and countries, which stood steadfastly with the Guyanese people to ensure that the correct 2020 General Election Results were declared.
The PNC/R and its partners can no longer depend on their rigging machinery, hence they are setting the foundation to claim that the PPP/C rigged the 2025 General and Regional Elections. Why are the APNU (PNC) and the AFC not spearheading the demand for a speedy trial for the infamous nine, which includes former PNC/R General Secretary Volda Lawrence? The trial began on July 29, and had to be aborted because of the magistrate’s prolonged illness, which bore a striking resemblance to Mingo’s ‘illness’ drama at Ashmin’s Building during the tabulation of the Region 4 votes in 2020.
If the APNU have their ‘winning’ SoPs, why are they not as vociferous as the PPP/C to have the Elections Fraud Case over and done with? Or are they afraid that the trial would further their involvement in the attempted 2020 election riggings?
The world has already concluded that the PNC/R and the AFC were the masterminds of the attempted rigging, and that is indelibly etched in the minds of all Guyanese who witnessed this first-hand.
The Opposition’s second electioneering slogan concerns ‘renegotiation’ and ‘referendum’. It has already been emphasized that, regardless of the outcome of a referendum, ExxonMobil must agree to renegotiate the 2016 PSA (Stability Clause). However, it must be borne in mind also that the oil company would have invested more than US$29 billion, which represented high investment risk, with Guyana benefitting immensely and not in a position to lose a dime.
Moreover, it has been evidenced that the 2016 PSA, given the risk from renewable energy, would be more favourable to Guyana in the future, when it is expected that oil prices would fall drastically.
All things being equal, the 2016 PSA is an equitable one. It is pellucid that the entire game plan is to use ‘renegotiation’ and ‘referendum’ as political ploys against the PPP/C government by appealing to the emotions of the more gullible, telling them that they are losing US millions from the 2016 PSA; money which can fill their pockets.
Fortunately, the masses know too well that their lives are improving steadily, and they will not be fooled and deceived by the APNU and the AFC, like they were in 2015.
The Opposition are aware that they can no longer campaign on their own strength and past ‘achievements’, hence the need to clutch at straws. Guyanese must beware of this Stephen King quote: ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us’
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
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