Guyana Times - Friday, June 5, 2020

Mingo’s fraudulent declarations further P exposed

15 to 17

Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4307

THE BEACON OF TRUTH FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

Bipartisan US Congress calls on Granger to accept recount results See story on page 9

...also for int’l observers to return and certify

Results from recount numbers will be credible – OAS Recount confirms PPP/C won elections – Jagdeo – with ECD ballots outstanding, PPP's lead is expected to surge past 16,000

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

P13 Guyana records no new COVID-19 case in 4 days Guyanese in NY support “Black Lives Matter” P14 movement

See story on page 14

Berbice man arraigned for brother’s P8 murder

See story on page 3

– beware of APNU/AFC’s “acts of desperation” – PM Candidate Brig (Rtd) Mark Phillips

Harmon demands GECOM pronounce on APNU/AFC’s recount allegations today Page 11

...even though not catered for in order or law – PPP/C writes Top Cop on veiled threats to GECOM

More voters refute Top Cop’s immigration data handed to GECOM

Atlantic Gardens murder

Suspect to make court appearance P8 today

See story on page 7

Democracy on trial in Guyana P12

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 5 – 04:30h-06:00h and 14:30h-16:00h and Saturday, June 6 – 05:30h-07:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, June 5 – 16:15h-17:45h and Saturday, June 6 –16:35h-18:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

Recount confirms PPP/C won elections – Jagdeo – with ECD ballots outstanding, PPP’s lead is expected to surge past 16,000 – beware of APNU/AFC’s “acts of desperation” – PM Candidate Brig (Rtd) Mark Phillips

WEATHER TODAY Sunny intervals will prevail during the day. There will be clear skies in the evening. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius.

Winds: North-Easterly to South-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 4.02 metres.

High Tide: 16:20h reaching a maximum height of 2.65 metres.

Low Tide: 09:53h and 22:06h reaching minimum heights of 0.40 metre and 0.59 metre.

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PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo

Prime Ministerial Candidate, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips

he National Recount Exercise – currently in its final stages at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre – is confirming that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has won the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections by in excess of 15,000 votes.

This is according to PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who, in a public statement on Thursday, said the exercise is also confirming the accuracy of the Statements of Polls (SoPs) in the Party’s possession in addition to confirming ‘massive fraud’ perpetrated by Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.

As such, Jagdeo has since called on Guyanese “not to be distracted by the rantings of the APNU+AFC…It is nothing new”.

According to Jagdeo, “It is the nation’s expectation that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will declare the results of the recount, in accordance with its amended Order.”

The law and the Constitution, he said, provide a recourse for those who are aggrieved by the results of an election.

Jagdeo has since reasoned that “no one should be surprised by APNU+AFC’s latest description of the March 2, 2020 National and Regional Elections, as “not credible”.

He recalled that “it has been the APNU+AFC’s desperate mantra the moment Clairmont Mingo was caught attempting to perpetrate massive fraud in the tabulation of Electoral District Number Four (4) to their benefit”.

According to Jagdeo, “they fought determinedly for Mingo’s fraudulent declarations to prevail. They never wanted a recount of the ballots. They even went to the Court to stop it. They tried at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to stop it.”

He said that “in the end, all their efforts failed” and

to be counted are the PPP/C strongholds.

Meanwhile, independent analysis being undertaken by political stakeholders contesting the elections have also called the elections for the PPP/C. The Citizenship Initiative’s (TCI’s) Shaz Ally, in a preliminary statement based on tabulated results from the recount thus far, places the PPP with a 33seat simple majority in the next Parliament while the incumbent would retain 31 and the joinder parties would pick up a single seat.

According to Ally’s projection, the final boxes will finish counting by Monday morning, which is June 8, 2020 and GECOM should tabulate and declare the results within three days later.

He has since surmised his projection based on the

T

that “they knew that once the ballots were recounted, it would confirm the accuracy of the SoPs, which they continue to hide from public scrutiny”.

Meanwhile, PPP/ C’s Prime Ministerial Candidate, retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, on Thursday, also echoed Jagdeo’s sentiments that the recount was confirming a PPP/C victory.

He told reporters encamped in the makeshift media centre outside the ACCC venue that this result was known to both parties within hours after the March 2 polls and cautioned Guyanese to beware APNU+AFC’s “acts of desperation”.

In addition, it was indicated that with only the East Coast ballot boxes left to be counted, the PPP/C is expected to surge past 16,000 in its lead. The areas that are left

fact that the SoPs published for District Four (DemeraraMahaica) are genuine and the results coming out of the recount for the other nine regions.

As such, he said the projections give APNU+AFC some 215,287 votes while the PPP/C’s trajectory indicates that it would secure 232,400.

According to TCI’s Ally, the other parties – including the joinder alliance – will take some 9481 votes.

He posited, “From that, the PPP/C will win the general elections by 7632 votes, which is inclusive of all parties and beat the APNU+AFC by 17,113 votes.”

Ally noted too, “even if you add other parties’ votes to the APNU+AFC, the PPP/C still will win; if you add the other parties’ votes to the PPP/C, the coalition got overall beat by 26,594 votes.”

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Guyanese deserve better A

s the national elections recount enters its final lap, there is great tension in Guyana – which has been at a standstill since March 2 – over the approach by A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/ AFC) in its hint of not accepting the results. This comes against the backdrop of caretaker President David Granger publicly committing to this acceptance prior to the recount.

The constant ---- cry by the APNU/AFC, who by now knows from the recount that they have lost the 2020 General and Regional Elections, is a clear indication that they have no respect for democracy and more so the will of the Guyanese people. Since March 2, they have fooled and maneuvered their supporters into believing that they were in some way short-changed, despite the international, regional and local observers pointing to the fact that the elections were free and fair.

All of the observers have publicly stated that the elections were free, fair and credible up until the tabulation of the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) results. European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponz Canto, in a recent interview on Guyana’s election, which was held three months ago, posited that it would have been “impossible” to cheat the systems that were in place on Elections Day. His comments come in light of the sudden epiphany by APNU/AFC, which has alleged that votes were illegitimately recorded; i.e.: that persons who are either dead or migrated are listed as having voted on March 2. These fallacious claims were suddenly brought to life after 1) the national elections recount exposed that indeed Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo deliberately manipulated the figures to fraudulently give victory to the APNU/AFC and 2) that the APNU/AFC will not retake the wheels of Government.

As we have said before the post-elections event have been a national embarrassment, and have made this country a laughing stock in the eyes of the wider Caribbean and international community. It clearly shows that after more than 50 years of Independence, some of our leaders have not matured politically, and are not willing to do the right thing in the national interest.

Caretaker President David Granger has always claimed that he would abide by the Constitution, but he has done very little to convince the nation that he is a man of his words. His firm grip on power following his government’s defeat via a noconfidence vote in December 2018 tells us as a nation a lot about his character.

The international community has already warned that Guyana could face sanctions if a President is sworn in based on the flawed results. It seems as if the APNU/AFC officials, including President David Granger, are unconcerned about these impending sanctions.

We couldn’t agree more with Sir Ronald Sanders, a Guyana- born internationally-respected diplomat, who on Thursday said, that as the end of the recount nears, the trial of democracy is heightening.

There is only one way to bring an end to this political which the APNU/AFC has lounged Guyana into and that is to respect the recount results. Failure by the David Granger led APNU/ AFC will result in suffering of Guyanese as sanctions from the international community looms over our heads. We also support the contents of the letter by members of the United States Congress to Granger urging him to honour the results of the recount.

Guyana’s leaders of every political party, every race, and every religion now bear a great responsibility to their country and their people. They should seize this opportunity to show that Guyana is a democracy, and, within that democracy, they can fashion representative governance for all. David Granger and his party should stop holding Guyanese hostage. Guyanese indeed deserve political leadership that looks beyond narrow interests.

APNU/AFC’s elections declaration is credible signal coup d’état in full swing Dear Editor, The coup which started immediately after the No-Confidence Motion on December 21st 2018 is now in full swing. The attempt to disguise the coup d’état through a rigged election is about to be aborted, and a full illegal control of the Government is now being finalised. APNU+AFC have no intention to leave Government, and David Granger has no intention to demit office.

The world spoke out, and continues to speak out, but the time for action is now.

Unless the world demonstrates its words are backed by action, the Granger-led APNU+AFC cabal will continue to test people’s resolve.

They firmly believe the actions coming will be ones they can live with; and that, in time, everyone will return to business as usual.

Whatever the international community does, APNU+AFC must know they will face a united Guyanese people resisting dictatorship.

Granger stated, in full view of the Guyanese people and the world, that he would accept the results of the recount. He did so with 60% of the recount completed at the time, with the recount fully affirming the SOPs. He stated acceptance with confidence, insisting that the final recount numbers would prove that he had won the elections.

I, for one, did not believe him. I know many Guyanese who did not believe him. His

party, APNU+AFC, issued a statement on June 3, 2020, more than three months after E-Day, claiming the results of the recount are not credible, even though with almost 90% of the recount completed, the SORs fully affirm the SOPs prepared on E-Day, March 2.

In other words, APNU+AFC last night took an unequivocal posture they have no intention of accepting the results.

This political dishonesty has been the hallmark of Granger; he says one thing and then gets his party to take another posture. He did agree to a recount, and then his party tried to abort the recount. He now agrees to accept the results, whatever that result is, and now his party insists the elections must be voided because the recount has unequivocally confirmed the PPP won a landslide victory and that the new President is Irfaan Ali. GECOM has to declare the results based on the recount, but APNU+AFC will try to prevent that declaration; and even if GECOM makes the declaration, they will reject it. Make no mistake, they will try to get the court to intervene; and should that fail, they intend to stay illegally in Government by any means. The coup is no longer being disguised.

The recount, through its Statements of Recount (SORs), has done two things; first, it confirms 100% the results recorded in the SOPs

produced by GECOM on E-Day (evening March 2, 2020); and second, the recount is proof of the gigantic fraud Clairmont Mingo attempted in order to fraudulently represent Region 4 results. Mingo had tried to inflate the votes for APNU+AFC mainly for the results from East Bank Demerara and East Coast Demerara. At the same time, for many of the boxes from those areas, he also deflated the PPP’s votes. He did so in front of representatives from all political parties and local and international observers, and on live stream for the world to see.

With just a few more boxes to be counted on the East Coast, the PPP will accumulate a greater lead, and Mingo’s fraud will be further exposed. No one in GECOM has tried to hold Mingo and his collaborators responsible for this fraud.

APNU+AFC’s announcement last night (June 3) does not shock anyone. They had, and still have, no intention to do the decent thing and legally leave office and allow the winners of the elections to take their rightful place for a legal Government to be installed. In spite of all their shenanigans, the recount is almost completed, and it confirms the PPP won, just as the SOPs had affirmed.

Now APNU+AFC have created a scenario of dead Guyanese and migrated Guyanese voting. Every day they make objections, naming people they claim are dead, even though these

people show up and prove they are still alive. Every day they make claims that Guyanese had left the country and were not present on March 2, but many of these people show up and prove they were here.

The GECOM Chair, acting against her own wisdom, that “those who attest must prove”, tried helping them out to prove their allegations.

The Police Commissioner joined the fray, issuing false statements to GECOM, stating that 172 persons, according to their records, were not in the country on March 2.

With people popping up everywhere, rejecting those assertions, the Police Commissioner insists that the departure record is real and those persons came back into Guyana backtrack. But many of these people never travelled out of the country; many have no passports etc. Where did those records come from? Who produced them? Are these another Mingo-style fraud?

The deception is criminal.

Brace yourself Guyana.

Granger and his rigging cabal are about to stab us many more times. They are comfortable being dictators.

We must stand up to them, let them know their wickedness will not be allowed to prevail. The international community must no longer wait; act now, sanctions must stop the crime already in full swing.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy

GECOM must discharge its duties according to the constitutional mandate

Dear Editor, We are into the homestretch of the recount of the ballots in the March 2nd 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana. In keeping with its mandate, at the end of this recount, a declaration has to be made, wherein there will be the announcement of the winner of the elections.

Now, this is not going down well with the incumbent PNC- led Coalition, because, from all indications, they are going to lose this election; therefore they are in desperation mode to get two objectives achieved: those are, have the chairwoman lay aside the declaration of the winner, or declare the election null and void.

In this regard, their main focus is to create an invented chaos of crazy excuses that the elections were so flawed that they should be considered a nullity. These range from accusations of persons residing overseas yet somehow miraculously being able to cast a ballot, to the downright ridiculous assertion of deceased persons coming out of their graves to vote; the foolishness just

keeps coming. However, amidst all of this confusion, GECOM must -- and I repeat, GECOM must -- steady the course and discharge its duties according to its constitutional mandate.

Like I said earlier, GECOM must stay within the ambit of its mandate; that is, to discharge free, fair and credible elections - which it has already done; as well as to deliver the final results of those elections. Barring this, the Commission would be held in contempt of, or otherwise in violation of, the Constitution. I hope the Chairwoman takes note of this fact.

For any election to pass the acid test, it must be based on the orderly conduct of persons in a free and fair manner, being able to cast their ballots, and the counting of those ballots towards the final decision of a winner. An election is not based on the whims and fancies of anyone’s opinion, or on the allegations brought on by sore losers.

Neither your opinion nor mine is relevant to the outcome of an election. The outcome of an election is based solely on the votes cast and

the results therefrom.

Therefore, at the end of this recount, we eagerly await the declaration of the

winner. I rest my case.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Stop the divisive rhetoric Granger backpedals on decision to accept recount results Dear Editor, Please permit me space to respond to two letters by GHK Lall, both published on June 1st, 2020. The first is captioned, “Truths now confirmed in ongoing drama of Guyana’s elections” (Stabroek News); and the second is captioned, “George Floyd protests should make all Guyanese pay attention” (Kaieteur News).

I can’t begin to wonder how destroyed we are as a nation. It is a fact that there is a lot of healing needed after this election is resolved, because of the animosity of people towards groups and organizations, which was evident because of biases they held, or for other reasons. For whatever reason, it is clear that these elements stood willfully blind to good, and rendered themselves incapable of giving credit when same was due.

In the Kaieteur News piece, Mr. Lall is claiming to be a realist, but then said: “I submit this on the firmest of grounds: That losing group, whichever it is…”

How can he claim to be a realist, but still fail to accept that there has been a clear case of an attempt to rig? In the words of the former Jamaican PM and head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, Bruce Golding: “I have never seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an election.”

How can you not know? Deduce from everything that has happened following Election Day. The sore losers ran to court to stop the recount after the CARICOM team first arrived.

Secondly, in the Stabroek News piece, Mr. Lall said: “…the opposition PPP… The party, its pathetic leaders, and their surrounding casts talk a loud game but do not have what it takes to walk upright proudly on their own strength. but is unnerved by the requirements, the sacrifices, that are essential components of any victory to be earned…” This is a clear example of painting an entire organization with a broad brush to fit the single-story narrative that he has told himself, and is now using to convince others.

In the eighth paragraph of the letter in Stabroek News, Mr. Lall said: “The private sector is too populated with persons working against the best interests of this nation for the sordid personal benefits of particular members.” The private sector represents approximately 75% of the money circulated in Guyana’s economy. As a financial Analyst and my former Economics teacher, Mr. Lall should recognise the importance of the private sector. In response to the claims that these people do not have the interest of the nation at heart, Mr. Lall should first identify the contributions of these businesses. Where do you think Guyana would be without entrepreneurs?

These businesses are mostly Guyanese-owned, and staying and fighting for this country should be considered patriotic, as they are capable of moving abroad for a better life, but they chose to improve the state of affairs right here in Guyana by creating jobs, contributing to the economy, and engaging in corporate social responsibility activities, as well as improving the standard of living and quality of life.

The APNU+AFC Coalition leader David Granger has been quoted over the years as emphasising the importance and the role of the private sector by stating that the Government isn’t capable of employing everyone, and the private sector is meant to fill this void.

As a Guyanese, I am astonished to be told that the private sector, in attempting to survive during the pandemic, is considered to be “neither principled nor patriotic”. Some persons are unappreciative of the private sector, but I would like to thank them for their service and continued developing of Guyana.

It is downright unscrupulous to not take a stand in the face of blatant electoral fraud, regardless of which political party you support. The example of Mr. Granger’s son-in-law Dominic Gaskin easily comes to mind, given that he spoke out against electoral fraud despite being part of the APNU+AFC Coalition and despite personal ties to the leader of the APNU+AFC Coalition, which was seeking to benefit from electoral fraud.

This is not the time to be a soup drinker.

It is time to stop divisive statements

that continue to fuel the fires of animosity; fuel the contentious political situation.

The current situation needs de-escalation, not a sympathiser of an incompetent regime further adding to the confusion.

Now, more than ever, there is need to remind the nation that Election Day was free and fair. On this point, I wish to remind of the following: • The GECOM Chair, Claudette Singh, on March 4th, 2020, said: “GECOM has delivered free, fair and credible elections.”

• The APNU+AFC Coalition leader, David Granger, on March 4th, 2020, said: “The General and Regional Elections were free, fair and orderly.”

• The APNU+AFC Coalition’s own dossier, which was circulated to US lawmakers, on page 11, said: “The various comments from the observer missions convey that the voting process in the elections was well managed, peaceful, proceeded largely without incident and was free, fair and transparent. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude then that the voting process was not fraudulent.”

There is no doubt that the proceedings on Election Day were free, fair and credible. We are in the current situation because of the tabulation process in Region 4 and the barefaced attempt to rig the results in that Region.

On that note, Mr. Lall also mentioned the EU Ambassador in his Kaieteur News’ letter. Let me remind you that he also said other notable things. He said: “We said it very clearly. This tabulation process for Region Four was NOT credible. It was not reflecting the will of the people. It has clearly followed a process that was not the right process…”

While the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, said: “It is clear there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted.”

In the letter published in Kaieteur News, Mr. Lall said: “The anticipated communal and national peace will not be forthcoming. I submit this on the firmest of grounds: That losing group, whichever it is, will have conditioned itself and people, and readied both through the indoctrination that they have been deceived and defrauded and disenfranchised. It is that their votes do not matter, their lives and the quality of existence yearned for from the oil do not count. I do not think that there will (be) much need for too much inciting, as the bitter antagonistic seeds have had the longest of sowing seasons. There will be no conceding by anyone…”

I agree with that, because of the constant tunes being sung since the fraudulent declarations were challenged in court, and the attempts at rigging have been quashed by the fighters of our democracy. The de facto regime should stop contradicting itself and start being decent and honest. That way, when the recount is over, we won’t end up in turmoil.

I urge you and all my fellow Guyanese to understand that this is not the time to let our biases cloud our judgement.

It is heartbreaking to see educated people blindly accepting obvious fake news and satire (remember Freddie Kissoon’s Tuesday, May 19th piece).

Mr. Lall, you’re an analyst, be analytical. One can deduce who won and who really and truly is the sore loser in this election. Please, this is not the time to push content with divisive undertones.

The recount should be over soon, we need to stand united, we need to move forward, we need to heal from this. On August 13th, 2019, via email, you said: “My own vision is what is best for this country as a whole, and no less. Remember, by God’s grace, I can take this position, as I have no vested interest in who wins or loses, but only what is best for this society.”

What has changed since then? Is a democratic nation not the best vision for this country? Is a Guyana where the most competent, diverse group at the forefront of policy development in an inclusive environment not what is best for the nation?

Do better. Be better.

Respectfully, Nutana Singh

Dear Editor, On May 17, 2020, at a press conference across the road from the Convention Centre, where the Election Recount is coming to a conclusion, David Granger was asked, “To what extent would your Coalition accept the result coming from the Recount?”

He evaded the question.

His answer was, “Whatever declaration is made by the Chairman of the Elections Commission would be regarded as legitimate by the Coalition Government”.

When David Granger was pressed further on an earlier declaration by Basil Williams and Roysdale Forde -- that the Recount is illegal – again he stated, this time emphatically, “As President of Guyana and Leader of the Government, it is my policy that any declaration coming from the Chairman of GECOM will be accepted by the Government of Guyana”.

But David Granger’s party, on June 3, in an e-mail, declared that APNU+AFC would not accept the result of the ballot recount, a statement which we must presume has the approval of David Granger, even before the Chairman of the Elections Commission can deliver her Commission’s verdict

on the ballot recount.

If, as she should, the GECOM Chairman declares the result of the ballot recount to be that which the world can already see, the PPP/C has won the Elections, David Granger’s party have now told her in advance that they will not accept any such decision.

In fact, the APNU+AFC have gone further in stating that “any results emanating from this process cannot be considered credible because of the high incidence of fraud”, thereby rejecting the entire recount process. It therefore immediately becomes incumbent on Granger to either reject the APNU+AFC statement, or be seen to have lied to the nation.

But David Granger has other problems. Not once but twice, prior even to the Recount beginning, and based entirely on the fraudulent Lowenfield Report from the Mingo tabulation, David Granger told his party followers that APNU+AFC had won the Elections. The ballot recount has proved already that he lied to his followers.

It is already patently clear that none of the so-called anomalies listed by APNU+AFC has any credibility, and remain not only unsubstantiated, but proved to be false. For instance,

the ridiculous claim that absentee persons from Guyana were impersonated and voted. These persons were in fact in Guyana.

As I write, fourteen (14) of these persons have given the lie to the information sent to the GECOM Chairman by the Commissioner of Police. Many more will be revealed.

The claim by Aubrey Norton that the members of the Defence Force have been disenfranchised has also been proved to be entirely false.

As for these so-called anomalies every day being claimed at the recount stations by APNU+AFC party agents, these amount to minor infractions that have no bearing on the overwhelming result of an election process which all of the international observers found credible, and to which Granger himself originally gave his blessings.

It is time, as I have said before, for David Granger to do the honourable thing: accept that he has lost the elections and concede before he is ultimately forced to do so by the international condemnation which will come his way and to our country if he doesn’t.

Yours sincerely, Kit Nascimento

Guyana Legion is apolitical, not an arm of the coalition Dear Editor, My Nana, or maternal grandfather, Cyril Kowlessar, served in the Second World War. A young man from Leonora (WCD), he enlisted with the UK’s Royal Air Force.

Shot during action in France, he survived after a bullet was removed from behind his ear, leaving him partially hearing-impaired for the rest of his life. After the war, he returned home. An early photograph of him is being submitted.

I write in his memory and in reply to a provocative letter (see SN 5/30) by Lt. Col. (ret) George Gomes, president of the Guyana (Veteran) Legion (Legion), an offshoot of the British Guiana Legion, originally formed to celebrate World War veterans.

Mr. Gomes’s letter is filled with pro-Coalition bias geared to incite partisan and racial sympathies in the Joint Services. His wrongful accusations of the PPP regarding votes from Joint Services members has been aptly discredited by ANUG Chairman Mr. Timothy Jonas (see SN 5/31) and others (see SN 6/1).

An accomplished soldier, Gomes disingenuously created a smokescreen to hide racial and partisan overtones by offering himself as a “senior veteran” concerned about voting rights of Joint Services members. However, he reminds one of that woman (Amy Cooper) in New York who recently called the police and falsely accused a black man of threatening her, hoping to tap into certain racial stereotypes in “white” America.

His incendiary posture is unbecoming of an officer, as he attempts to arouse certain racial stereotypes about the Joint Services, and wrongfully uses the Veterans’ Legion to do so.

There is an assumption as to where voters’ allegiance lies, and arrogance as to a certain section of the people as not having any military heritage.

The Joint Services have their PR departments to speak for them. No help is needed.

Further, the Legion deals with

“veteran” issues; and, most important, Mr. Gomes must be aware that the Legion’s initial policy is “non-sectarian and non-political.” That is, the Legion is apolitical, not an arm of the Coalition.

But neither the Legion nor its leadership is now pandering to, or carrying, the Coalition’s false narratives in a disturbing example of an independent organ being compromised by racial and party sympathies.

The nonsense should stop, and some respect should be

show.

Worse, Mr. Gomes and the Coalition are attempting to ignite -- if I may borrow from former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis -- a “false conflict between the military and civilian society.” This is what this US General said this week in criticism of President Donald Trump’s use of the military against peaceful civilian protesters.

A false conflict. This is a real threat to our republican status, and to civil and voting rights acquired through incomparable grit and blood of World War veterans such as my grandfather, heralding the demise of the British Empire and our right to self-rule.

As a war veteran, my grandfather held no illusions about what he saw. He knew that the idea of soldiering itself had become contaminated under the PNC. Allegiance to the party was paramount. Indeed, the rights he fought for were being popularly denied at the ballot box. He had no voice.

If Hitler made him partially deaf, Burnham and Hoyte made him partially mute.

Sure, he told war stories that were not really stories: of the Battle of Britain from a first-person perspective; of how the Russians really won the war, led by the famed Marshal Georgy Zhokov, who denied the invading Germans victory at Leningrad.

But when he died in 1989, he had yet to experience a free and fair election in Guyana.

How shameful! The native that helped to defeat the dreaded Stormtroopers, the Gestapo, and the feared Luftwaffe had no basic voting rights at home; nor did people who looked like him.

This is not my Nana’s story; rather, it is a Guyanese one. In today’s emerging “corn” vernacular, this means that those who fought or died for civil rights in trenches cannot enjoy those very rights as those who had dug the trenches. We saw this during the 1985 elections, the last of his time. I was a young Queen’s College student, old enough to feel the disrespect. In our Grove (EBD) area, for example, some villagers emerged from the poll station but complained of being sent away on account that they had already voted.

That was a most brutish election, to say the least, with the Opposition Leader being assaulted. What could an old man or school boy say with no voice?

The old man is long gone, but the school boy is grown and has a voice. As a war veteran’s grandchild, I do not have the luxury of staying silent, especially when “forces” are bent on overrunning the democratic ideals veterans fought and died for.

One ideal is a need to have an apolitical military, which is central to a democracy. The public, including present and past members of the Joint Services, has no less of a duty.

Sincerely, Rakesh Rampertab

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

Page

Foundation

Guyana Times is pleased to publish the Education Ministry’s National Grade Six Assessment Past Papers.

Below are of Mathematics Paper 2, 2016 and CXC Maths.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. 1. WRITE YOUR CANDIDATE NUMBER ON THE ANSWER SHEET AND UNDERLINE THE SUBJECT. 2. This test contains 40 questions. You are required to answer ALL questions. Four 1.

MATHEMATICS

responses are given for each question. The responses are A, B, C and D. Only ONE response is correct.

3. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, then choose the one which you think is BEST. On your answer sheet, draw a heavy black line through the letter you have chosen.

4. BE SURE THAT THE QUESTION NUMBER IN THE BOOKLET IS THE SAME AS THE ONE YOU HAVE USED ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET.

(a) Solve, giving your answer in the lowest terms, (2marks)

(b) (i)

At a sale, books are sold at $90.75 each, which is 75% of the original price.

What is the original price of a book?

(1 mark)

(ii) Paul buys 10 books at the sale and pays VAT of 16% on the sale price. Calculate the total amount he paid for the 10 books. lnstruction: Answer any three questions from questions 2 to 6.

Here is an example done for you.

ANSWER SHEET 1. Red is Tim’s colour.

A B C D (A) favrite (B) favarite (C) favourite (D) faveriteu A heavy black line has been drawn through the letter C on the answer sheet because favourite, the correct answer, is next to C. If you make a mistake, erase the line cleanly, then draw a heavy black line through the letter

If Jai received $23.60 change, what four items did he buy?

(2 marks) (b)

Mia received some pocket money. She spent 3/5 of it on food and 10 the remaining amount on stationery. She saved the rest of the money.

(i)

What fraction of her pocket money did Mia spend on stationery?

(1 mark)

(ii) If Mia saved $28.00, how much pocket money did she receive?

(2 marks)

next to the answer you have now chosen.

6. REMEMBER, each answer MUST only be shown by a heavy black line on your Answer Sheet.

7. Remember only ONE answer must be provided for each question.

DO NOT TURN OVER THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO. (1 mark)

(b)

Calculate the area of the semicircle.

(2 marks)

(c)

What is the area of the shaded region of the figure?

(2 marks)

4. (a) In the figure below, PQR is a straight line and TP = TQ

3 . Figure ABCD shown below is made up of a semicircle and a rectangle. 0 is the centre of the line DC. Find the value of

2. (a) Jai bought 4 different items from the list shown below. Two of the items cost the same amount. He paid with $200.00.

(i)

anglex (2 marks)

(ii)

angle y.

(1 marrk)

(b)

(a)

Find the value of p in the diagram below.

Calculate the area of triangle AOB.

(2 matrks)

TO BE CONTINUED

CXC MATHS 1.

(a) Solve for x 4(x=10) – 7 + 8x

(b) Simplify (i) 9y2 – 1 (ii) 2p2 -4p – 20 (c) In 3C, there are 26 students. All students study Mathematics and English. No student failed.

Only 50 per cent got 80 per cent in Mathematics or English Ten students got 80 per cent in both Mathematics and English 2x students got 80 per cent in English only x students got 80 per cent in Mathematics only (i) Complete a Venn diagram where: U = {all the students in the class} P = {students who got 80 per cent in Mathematics and English} M = {students who got 80 per cent in Mathematics only} E = {students who got 80 per cent in English only} (ii) Calculate the value of x

NEWS

7

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

More voters refute PSC calls on stakeholders Top Cop’s immigration to accept result of recount data handed to GECOM

Police Commissioner Leslie James

A

t least 10 other persons have come forward to reject claims being made by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition as well as the Guyana Police Force (GPF) that they were out of the country on Election Day. This new batch of individuals have all signed affidavits – a legal statement confirmed by oath – asserting that they were in Guyana on March 2, 2020 and they legitimately voted at the General and Regional Elections.

Susan Natasha Narine appears at Number 93 on the Police List, which claimed that she left Guyana in 2017 and never returned on or before Election Day. But the woman says she lives at Kuru Kururu on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway and she voted on March 2.

Rameshwar Paul is Number 35 on the Police List; he works in the interior regions of Guyana.

His wife signed an affidavit on his behalf, confirming that he was in the country and voted on March 2 – which is contrary to the Police information which claims that he left the country since 2010 and did not return in time for Election Day. Otis Jaigobin is Number 33 on the Police List; he too works in the interior. Police claim that

he left Guyana since 2018, but never returned on or before March 2. However, his mother swore an affidavit, saying that her son was in the country and voted at the March 2 polls.

Other individuals who signed affidavits confirming that they were in the country on March 2 are Chaitram Bharat, who appears as Number 22 on the Police List; Khaawtie Naipaul, who is Number 78 on the Police List; Dhanwantie Singh, who is Number 81 on the Police List and Pardasie Balram, who is Number 34 on the Police List.

Susan Natasha Narine

The other individuals who have come forward are Anthony Persaud, who is Number 36 on the Police List; Zahaid Baksh, who is Number 27 on the Police List; and Mohamed Muntaz Ali, who is Number 38 on the Police List.

The other persons who have already come forward to reject claims that they were out of the country on March 2 are Sursattie Ramnarine, of Lot 70 Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo (EBE); Shafeek Kumar, of Lot 367 North New Scheme, Zeelugt; Anna Persaud of Tuschen, EBE; Sheik Ameer Mohamed and Akash Ramoutar, both of Tuschen New Housing Scheme, EBE,

T

Justice Claudette Singh

as well as Roberto Narine of Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

There were also 30-yearold Kaminie Singh of Cornelia Ida, WCD; Nishani Bissessar; Sydney Douglas Jones; Kimbelie Karishma Raghunandan; Latoya Wills; as well as Compton Bacchus and Amos Bhola of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

In a fresh list submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the APNU/AFC included the name of Nizea Bacchus, who has since come forward to clarify that she was in the country on Election Day. Additionally, during the recount process on Tuesday, an APNU/AFC representative objected to the serial number for prominent Attorney Devindra Kissoon, claiming that he was out of the jurisdiction and, therefore, votes cast under his name could not be valid.

But this assertion was also proven to be false, since records show that Kissoon voted at the African Heritage Museum in Bel Air Park, Georgetown. He was also an accredited observer for the American Chamber of Commerce Guyana Chapter, and was photographed on several occasions visiting polling stations on Election Day.

he Private Sector Commission (PSC) has joined mounting calls for stakeholders, including all the political parties, to accept the results emanating from the recount of the votes cast at the March 2 elections.

This comes on the heels of the caretaker A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/ AFC) coalition signalling its intention on Wednesday night to reject the recount results.

“Any results emanating from this process cannot be considered credible because of the high incidence of fraud,” the incumbent party stated, while further calling for the March 2 elections to be voided.

However, in a brief statement on Thursday, the PSC called upon “… all the people of Guyana and each of the contesting parties to recognise and accept the result [of] the Recount, agreed to by both President David Granger and General Secretary of the PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/ Civic), Bharrat Jagdeo, as the final decision and declaration of the Guyana Elections Commission.”

The Commission, which is an accredited local observer of the electoral process, also urged Guyanese, regardless of their political preferences, to respect and uphold the rule of law.

The PSC further called for them to keep the peace in the interest of their individual and collective well-being, as well as in the interest of Guyana.

With the national recount, which has some 241 ballot boxes remaining to be counted, near completion, results thus far show the PPP/C in the lead with 187,519 votes from the General Elections while the incumbent coalition has just about 174,000 votes.

More importantly, the exercise has exposed the fraudulent acts by Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer (RO), Clairmont Mingo. It has been unearthed that the embattled RO heavily inflated the figures in Region Four – the largest voting district in Guyana – in favour of the coalition to give the incumbent party a landslide lead over the Opposition PPP/C. In fact, since this fraud has been detected, the APNU/AFC has changed its narrative, claiming now that votes were cast in the names of dead and mi-

grated persons – something which has been proven false as scores of persons came forward after seeing their names on the APNU/AFC list as having migrated or being out of the jurisdiction on Election Day. Testimonies of these individuals not only discredit the APNU/AFC’s list, but also the list submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) by the Police.

Late last month, the coalition submitted a list of some 200 names to GECOM, claiming that those individuals were not in the country on March 2 and, therefore, any votes cast in their names would be illegitimate.

GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice Claudette Singh then wrote Police Commissioner Leslie James, seeking to determine whether those individuals were indeed out of the jurisdiction.

The Top Cop replied, indicating that based on records from the Immigration Department, 172 persons from the APNU/AFC list were not in Guyana on Election Day – an assertion which has since been proven false, as scores of people are coming forward to refute the information.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has since sought to clarify why the list it provided to GECOM has what appears to be numerous inaccuracies.

Pushing its agenda, the APNU/ AFC again submitted another list of over 200 additional names of persons it is claiming were not in Guyana on Election Day. The political grouping also submitted a list of persons it claimed were dead but yet their names were recorded as voted.

Moreover, this attempt now by the coalition to discredit the March 2 elections comes even as the incumbent administration, including its leader, caretaker President David Granger, initially lauded the elections as “credible” and even claimed victory using Mingo’s fraudulent declaration.

After visiting several polling stations in Region Four, Granger told reporters that he did not receive any complaint at the polling stations he visited and he observed the GECOM staff were aware of their duties and performed them efficiently.

8 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Atlantic Gardens murder

Suspect to make court appearance today

Accused: Rafeek Khan

R

afeek Khan who was found hiding in the ceiling of the Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home of murdered businesswoman Sattie Monica Beekharry on Monday is expected to make an appearance today at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.

A murder charge was in-

stituted against Khan after legal advice was sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

On Monday, June 1, the motionless body of Beekharry, a 61-year-old mother of four, was found in a pool of blood in her home.

On the day in question, neighbours reportedly heard a heated argument between

the now dead woman and the suspect after she refused to loan him money.

It was reported that during the argument, the woman was heard telling Khan that he had an outstanding sum for her and she could not loan him any more money.

From all indications, this angered the man who picked up a knife and slit Beekharry’s throat. The marks of violence about her body revealed that she was also beaten.

Upon hearing the commotion, neighbours summoned the Police, who found the woman’s body lying on the floor. The suspect was at the time hiding in the ceiling of the house thus officers used tear gas to extract him.

An autopsy conducted on the woman’s body by Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Mortuary revealed that the woman died as a result of brain haemorrhage caused by multiple trauma to head, compounded by multiple fractures of

Rejecting…

S

Dead: Sattie Monica Beekharry

the right-side rib cage.

The elderly woman who had lived in Canada for several years had only returned to Guyana a few weeks before the March 2 General and Regional Elections in order to cast her ballot. Her departure was further delayed by the local coronavirus outbreak.

Khan is said to have been a close friend of the now dead woman.

Berbice man arraigned for brother’s murder Bisnauth, of Shieldstown, West Bank Berbice (WBB), appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s Court and was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

Police stated that on May 30, 2020, at Shieldstown, Bisnauth murdered his 45-year-old brother, Sarananand Bisnauth, also known as “Sardanan” and “Long Hair.”

It was reported that on the day in question, the two brothers were consuming alcohol at their home when an argument broke out be-

Charged: Khemlall Bisnauth

F

on

orty-four-year-old Khemlall Bisnauth, called “Bison”, was Wednesday arraigned

for the murder of his older brother who he reportedly stabbed to death on May 30 during an argument.

tween them.

The argument escalated into a fight, and it was then that the younger man armed himself with a knife and attacked his sibling, who was sitting in a hammock.

The now dead man attempted to block the vicious attack and was cut on the right arm. The knife, however, ended up stabbing him in the chest.

A post-mortem examination showed that Sarananand died from a stab wound to the chest.

The accused was remanded to prison until July 1, 2020.

Linden man get bail on firearm, threatening language charges

T

wenty-eight-year-old Lionel Sharples was placed on bail in the sum of $250,000 when he made a virtual appearance before Linden Magistrate Wanda Fortune on Tuesday, charged with the offences of discharging a loaded firearm and making use of threatening language.

Sharples, also called “Bucka”, of Canvas City, Wismar, Linden, was charged with committing the offences on Shenika and Shequita Chapman at the Half Mile Public Road in Wismar on May 20. He was not required to plead to the charges, and was placed on bail for the offence of discharging a loaded firearm, while he received self-bail on the threatening language charge.

Charged: Lionel Sharples, aka “Bucka”

The cases have been adjourned to July 20.

…The recount o, who’s surprised that the PNC came out of their “hold me-loose me” mode to announce they won’t accept the recount, cause it’s “not credible”?? If it’s one thing you can’t accuse this version of the PNC about, it is that they’re subtle!! I mean, what made them wait till the cock had crowed thrice before giving Mingo the nod to inflate those Reg 4 SOPs?? After barely squeezing in back in 2015 with AFC’s help from their Indian 10%, did they think they’d have a repeat after kicking the latter constituency in their (sugar) teeth??

So, there you had poor Mingo, like a deer caught in the headlights, being told to come up with God knows how many thousand more votes for the PNC!! The man had to become a thespian in a split second to be rushed to GPHC for a “heart condition”. The cardiologist could only confirm his heart was thumping much faster than usual, and sent him back to make his announcement. After all, the backroom boys (and girls) supplied by Lowenfield had already done the dirty with that now infamous flash drive!!

But because this feint was so egregious – especially with all those pesky observers and diplomats around – the PNC immediately had to come up with a Plan B. And this was to attack the credibility of the recount - which by them had been forced onto Granger – in whichever way possible. And we know “possibility” is infinite!! So we had accusations of the dead being exhumed by the PPP and made to vote; migrants slipping back into the country through the backtrack routes to vote, after they’d left legally and had their passports stamped and everything.

Most deviously, the PPP was able to get the POs at hundreds of polling stations across Guyana to mess up the stamping of Disciplined Forces votes that had been sent to them for intermixing into the regular voters!!

Not satisfied with these specific instances of alleged skullduggery, one businessman Stanley Ming - long associated with the PNC, and having a mega oil project in the works – was shanghaied and deployed to dispute the credibility of the entire edifice on which the elections depend – the OLE!!

So, to your Eyewitness, it was more than a tad anticlimactic when - as the ballot boxes dwindled down to the last few hundreds from Reg 4 – the PNC choir all started singing the “no credible” recount song!!

But it matters not. The GECOM Commission is compelled by law to declare a winner. The matter of “credibility” is one for the courts, since this is a question of fact that must be judicially weighed!!

The fat lady will have to sing that the PPP won!! …their leader’s promise?

That the PNC believe in bullyism along with brute force and ignorance became a cliché after decades of the Guyanese people witnessing them in action. There was the great betrayal of the nationalist movement in the 1960s by their founder-leader Burnham, who set the mould with the violent riots to oust the PPP from office.

There were some who felt we’d be spared the outbursts the nation suffered in 1992, 1998, and 2001-2008, after the PNC were able to win their second election without rigging, in 2015. The first was in 1964, also in a coalition. Folks figured that even if they lost in 2020, they could always return. Notwithstanding the Mingo manoeuvre, after Granger promised to honour the recount, the naïve thought we’d be spared. They forgot that Granger and Harmon had perfected the “good soldier- bad soldier” routine to a ‘T”!

So, while Granger continued simpering about accepting the recount, Harmon exposed the steel fist. He bluntly threatened GECOM to approve his claimed “irregularities”!

Or else!! …their own spiel Caught in their own artifice, the PNC claimed they never submitted attorney Kissoon’s name to the COP for checking as a migrant who voted. But no one said they did.

The objection was made by their recount agent!!

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

NEWS

9

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Bipartisan US Congress calls on Granger to accept recount results

...also for int’l observers to return and certify

US Congress Rep Alcee L Hastings

US Congress Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz

ollowing pronouncement by the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) that the results from the ongoing recount of the votes cast at the March 2 elections will not be credible, five bipartisan members of the United States Congress have since written caretaker President David Granger, who is also the leader of the coalition, urging him to accept the results emanating from the recount process.

In a letter dated June 4, 2020, bipartisan representatives Alcee L Hastings, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna E Shalala of the Democratic Party and Republican Paul Cook underscored the importance of President Granger recognising the recount results.

Granger’s APNU/AFC coalition on Wednesday said that the results from the recount

“cannot be considered credible because of the high incidence of fraud…”

The incumbent party has been claiming that votes were cast in the names of dead and migrated persons – something which has been proven false as scores of persons came forward to refute this new narrative by the coalition, which also wants the March 2 elections to be voided.

However, the bipartisan Congress members told Granger in the letter that, “Your leadership role during the recount process is critical to Guyana’s continued respect for the rule of law. Your place in Guyana’s history will be secured by ensuring an international-recognised Declaration of Results consistent with the laws of Guyana.”

According to the US Congress representatives, they hope the recount will be conducted in a fair and transparent

F

US Congress Rep Darren Soto

manner instilling confidence in the results and Guyana’s democratic institutions – something which they say will be supported by credible international observers who can verify the integrity of the recount and the final results.

To this end, this group of bipartisan US Congress members joined mounting calls for the incumbent President to allow accredited international observers to return to oversee the recount exercise, which is now nearing completion.

The Carter Center and the International Republican Institute (IRI) were denied permission by the coalition Administration for them to return to Guyana to observe the recount. The caretaker administration cited its COVID-19 emergency measures, which included the closure of Guyana’s two international airports to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, as grounds for refusal.

US Congress Rep Donna E Shalala

However, many stakeholders, including other Western countries, have stated that the Government could put special arrangements in place for the observers’ return as was done for the high-level Caribbean Community (Caricom) team that is here to scrutinise the process.

In their letter to the Guyanese Head of State, the US Congress representatives expressed understanding of the many unprecedented steps were taken by his caretaker Administration to slow the spread of the virus. But in the same vein, they noted that this must be done in cognisance of “essential” work such as ensuring the credibility of the recount exercise.

“Even so, all countries implementing measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus have also acknowledged that some work is so essential that it must continue. The le-

US Congress Rep Paul Cook

gitimacy of elections are essential to the health of democracies everywhere and credible international observers will ensure that the people of Guyana and their friends around world can trust and be proud of the final result in the ongoing recount,” the group outlined in its correspondence.

These five US politicians have now joined another group of bipartisan Congress members as well as Senators who have been vocal about Guyana’s prolonged electoral process, pressing for the process to be transparent and credible. Only last month, Congress representatives Albio Sires, Gregory Meeks and Sanford Bishop of the Democratic Party and Francis Rooney, Jeff Duncan and Jenniffer González-Colón of the Republican Party called for the return of the Carter Center, which was here for the March 2 elections, but has since found itself locked out of Guyana as a result of the pandemic.

Caretaker President David Granger

In fact, the Center had even dispatched its observation agent to the Miami International Airport on May 4 with the hopes of joining an empty relief flight that was heading to Guyana to repatriate US citizens who were stranded here, but permission was not granted by the Guyana Government.

The Carter Center, in a subsequent statement after being denied permission a second time, expressed disappointment at not being able to return to complete its mission.

“While noting the positive contribution that each of these actors is making to foster transparency, the Center is disappointed that the Government of Guyana chose not to demonstrate a genuine commitment to transparency by ensuring that all duly-accredited organisations, including the Carter Center, be allowed to conduct their work,” it stated.

10 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Police Constable testifies in 1 injured after minibus PI into court tout’s murder slams into parked vehicle

Dead: Darrell Breedy

Remanded: 19-yearold Leon Patterson

he Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Darrell Breedy, who was fatally shot on October 5, 2019, got underway at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday before Magistrate Leroy Daly via Skype.

Twenty-six-year-old Terrence Pitt, called “Sonna Boy” or “Shots”, of Third Street, Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and 19year Leon Patterson, of B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, were jointly charged for murder of the father of four.

However, in the court on Thursday, Constable Chepeaman Jaisingh was the first to testify and he recalled what transpired

on October 5, 2019, when Breedy was murdered.

Two other Constables are expected to testify next Thursday when the matter is called again.

It was reported that on the day in question, 53-yearold Breedy was shot in the abdomen at his Lot 2037 Hummingbird Street home after masked men invaded his properly.

The bandits reportedly gained entry into the two-storey house through a window at the bottom flat of the building. The bandits had carted off a television set and G$11,000. Breedy was shot after he put up a fight against the two bandits who were armed with handguns.

The now dead man was

T

O

The minibus along with the motor wagon which was involved in the accident

Terrence Pitt, called “Sonna Boy or “Shots”

a popular tout, who worked outside of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. He was also a construction worker. The PI continues on June 18, 2020.

ne woman was rendered seriously injured after the minibus in which she was travelling crashed into a parked vehicle in the vicinity of Duncan and Sheriff Streets, Georgetown before ending up in a nearby trench.

According to information received, the accident occurred around 16:00h on Wednesday as a Route 48 minibus bearing registration number BXX 7683 was in the process of overtaking a truck when the driver lost control and ended crashing into a parked motor car with registration plates PPP 983.

As a result of the collision, both vehicles ended up in a trench.

At the time of the accident, the minibus was reportedly carrying six passengers.

It was only last week, Sabita Sukhoo, 20, of 123 Lusignan Pasture, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was killed while three others were injured following a two-vehicle collision along the Rupert Craig Highway.

The injured were listed as Sukhoo’s moth-

Sabita Sukhoo died last week after the minibus in which she was travelling collided with another vehicle

er, 44-year-old Anita Ramjit of Lusignan, ECD; 44-year-old Marlyn Wilson of Lot 10 Golden Grove, ECD, and 45-year-old Mohan Mangal of Lot 273 Block 12, Nonpareil, ECD.

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Harmon demands GECOM pronounce on APNU/AFC’s recount allegations today …even though not catered for in order or law ꟷ PPP/C writes Top Cop on veiled threats to GECOM

Former Army Chief-of-Staff, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips

T

he Opposition Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Thursday expressed its concerns over political control being purportedly exercised over two constitutionally independent bodies; namely, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Elections Commission.

The consternation was adumbrated by PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate, retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, who on Tuesday responded to an ultimatum that was handed down by A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Executive member Joseph Harmon.

The APNU+AFC Executive had hours earlier issued an ultimatum to the Commission to respond

to its demands by Friday (today), or its members would head down to the ACCC recount venue to demand answers. The Coalition is claiming that, among other things, citizens who migrated or are dead were marked off as having voted on March 2, but has failed to provide proof.

Denouncing the ultimatum issued by Harmon, the PPP/C PM Candidate has since called on the Police Force to recognise that it is an independent body, as is the case with GECOM. Elaborating the party’s concerns, Phillips noted the timing of the ultimatum — coinciding with the end stage of the recount exercise. “We find it difficult to accept that a political party would want to issue ultimatum” to a constitutional body that enjoys independence of political control from the executive.

Accusing Harmon, a political figurehead in the APNU+AFC camp, of interference, the PPP/C PM Candidate reminded that with the results of the elections imminent, the coalition is again shifting its strategy from frivolous allegations of dead or migrant voters to now issuing ultimatums to the Commission.

He additionally expressed

concern over the Police response to what he called demands of a political organization, and has since also pointed to the flawed nature of the list, since many of the claims have since been debunked.

Meanwhile the party has since formally written to the Commissioner of Police, Leslie James, requesting an “urgent meeting” on Monday, June 8.

The letter, which was sent by Executive Member Anil Nandlall, stated that the Party’s General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo would be accompanied by a team of party leaders at the meeting to “discuss certain security concerns of public importance”.

The letter was dispatched on June 4, three days ahead of the anticipated meeting.

The Top Cop has been under fire recently for releasing what appears to be inaccurate immigration information to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Police Commissioner James had submitted to GECOM a list of 172 persons the Guyana Police Force claims were not in the country on or before March 2. However, many of those individuals have since come forward to refute the Police Force’s re-

cords.

The Top Cop supplied the list to GECOM Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh after she had sent him a list of some 200 names, provided by the APNU/AFC, to verify whether those individuals were out of the jurisdiction on Elections Day, as is being claimed by the Coalition.

After numerous persons came forward to refute the data provided by the Top Cop, the Guyana Police Force is-

Chief Executive Officer of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Joseph Harmon

sued a statement in an effort to provide clarity. According

to the Force: “Migration data produce by the Immigration Department of the Guyana Police Force is generated through its Record system, which includes an Electronic Border Management System.

This system, however, does not record persons who travelled illegally.”

The Police Force is therefore saying that these persons would have left Guyana “legally” but returned “illegally”.

National recount

ECD ballots remain with 242 boxes to go

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he recount of votes cast on March 2 has so far completed nine of Guyana’s 10 electoral districts denominated by administrative Regions – leaving all available stations to focus on the 242 boxes remaining to complete that aspect of the exercise.

The activity being runoff by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) concluded its 30th day, com-

pleting 83 boxes.

Regions Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) had their final boxes counted on Thursday with tabulation certificates for those districts expected imminently.

At the end of Thursday, votes tabulated to date for the general election give the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) a convincing mar-

gin of victory, securing 195,185 votes thus far, contrasted against the incumbent’s 188, 112 votes.

The Liberty and Justice Party, led by Lenox Shuman, registered 2500 votes in its favour so far while A New and United Guyana (ANUG) with Timothy Jonas as its Chairman has had 1945 of its votes recounted.

TURN OT PAGE 13

12 NEWS

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Coalition “never anticipated in their wild and clumsy way” that Mingo would have been caught – Nandlall are refusing to give up the Government in accordance with the law, in accordance with the Constitution, and they remain in Government squatting,” he said.

The attorney added that Guyana deserves a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, since it is more than three months since the citizens voted and a credible winner is yet to be an-

nounced.

“A world record has been broken! March 2, elections were held, 2020, and on June 2, three months after, those elections have not yet been concluded!” Nandlall told viewers. Based on the figures coming out of the recount process, the PPP/C has so far had 187,519 of its votes in the General Elections tabulated, while the incumbent

A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) has so far had more than 174,000 votes recounted in its favour.

The ongoing National Recount has revealed that RO Mingo had heavily inflated figures in favour of the APNU/AFC Coalition, to give the party a landslide lead over the Opposition PPP/C. Since this fraud has been

unearthed, the Coalition has been changing its narrative, claiming now that votes were cast in the names of dead and migrated persons.

However, it is constantly being proved that many of the persons whom the APNU/ AFC is claiming were not in the jurisdiction and their votes cannot be valid were in fact in the country and did vote on March 2.

Democracy on trial in Guyana

By Sir Ronald Sanders

PPP/C Executive Member Anil Nandlall

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he incumbent Coalition thought that it would have been able to pull off an attempt to rig the March 2, polls using District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, and “illegally” hold on to power after it was clear that, based on the tabulation of votes, their main opponent – the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) - had an unassailable lead of over 15,000 votes.

This was the view expressed by PPP/C Executive Member Anil Nandlall, who during a video presentation via Facebook on Tuesday detailed all the attempts made by the APNU/AFC to prevent the ongoing recount from taking place, since, according to him, “They know that a fair recount process would show that they lost the elections”.

“They have attempted to use the Returning Officer of Region Four to attempt to perpetrate the most nasty and vulgar fraud in relation to the tabulation of Region Four results. Clairmont Mingo attempted to put into APNU’s account -- by using a spreadsheet, not the SOPs to tabulate the votes -- to fraudulently give to APNU over 50,000 ballots that APNU did not gain at the elections, so

as to surpass the lead which the PPP would have accumulated in nine other Regions in the country, as well as in Region 4,” Nandlall told viewers.

“They never anticipated, in their wild and clumsy way, they he would have been caught. How they managed to persuade themselves that Mingo would have been able to pull off this stunt is an indictment on the way they think, their intellectual capacity,” the high-ranking PPP member said.

“Any child, any rational mind, would have recognised quickly that Mingo would have been caught, having regard to the circumstances under which he attempted to do what he attempted to do,” Nandlall, a former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs under the PPP Administration, added.

He explained that while the PPP/C has lost Region Four, it had gained “a huge lead in the other regions, which would have compensated for the votes lost in Region 4; and in the end, we would have emerged the winner by some 15,000 to 17,000 votes.

“The world must be laughing at Guyana…three months after the elections results are known, they

news@guyanatimesgy.com

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dherence to democracy, including free and fair elections, has been on trial in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region over the past three months in Guyana and Suriname.

So far, Suriname is the only one that has come out of the trial with credibility and with regional and international respect. Its elections, held on May 25, were transparent and peaceful and its results, formally declared on June 4, have been accepted by all the 17 contesting parties and their supporters.

Suriname will now proceed to install a coalition government of four parties that have been in opposition and should easily be able to secure the election of a new president by 34 of 51 votes in the National Assembly.

Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the leader of the Progressive Reform Party, which secured the largest single block of votes, is expected to be the new president.

If there was any sitting president of a country who should have had every reason to rig an election, that president was Desi Bouterse who, in 2019, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with an appeal still pending. In addition, he is also wanted in The Netherlands after being convicted in 1999, in his absence, for trafficking in cocaine. He knew that once he ceased to be president, the law enforcement agencies would pursue him.

Yet, neither Bouterse nor his National Democratic Party attempted to gerrymander the general elections process which was declared to be free of fraud by Observer missions from the Organization of American States (OAS) and CARICOM. The absence of any attempt at fraud, even with the stakes so high, speaks exceedingly well of the Suriname electoral system and the commitment of its managers to democracy, including resisting political interference.

Sir Ronald Sanders, Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organisation of American States

In stark contrast, in Guyana, the false tabulation of the votes of the March 4 elections, and the manoeuvrings that followed, have shown little regard for democracy or for a fair election. Officers of the Guyana Electoral Commission (GECOM) have been proven, in a recount of all the votes that started on May 6, to have manipulated poll results to increase ballots for the APNU-AFC party of president Granger significantly, and to reduce votes for Jagdeo’s Peoples Progressive Party drastically.

This recount, scrutineered by agents of CARICOM and observed by representatives of the OAS and local groups, is nearing its elongated and painful process that has taken four weeks so far.

However, as the end of the recount nears, the trial of democracy is heightening.

As the recounted votes show that APNU-AFC has clearly lost the elections, its officials are reported to be demanding that the entire general election should be voided.

The basis for this alarming demand is an unsubstantiated allegation that dead or absent persons voted in the election. Curiously, this ominous statement has come after the APNU-AFC leadership had earlier declared – along with all the observer missions – that the voting, at which every party had agents present, was free and fair.

The question now arises about what will happen when, by June 16, GECOM announces the result of the recounted votes of the elections. The entire regional and international community has called for the result of the recount to be accepted by all parties and that it be the basis for installing a government that reflects the votes cast by the majority of the electorate. In this way, Guyana, like Suriname, will transition into a new government peacefully and lawfully, accepted at home and abroad.

Guyana can then look forward to holding a respected place in the international community where it can pursue the interests of the Guyanese people with credibility and strength.

If, however, there is disregard for the recounted votes and an accompanying attempt to ignore democracy and the rule of law, the international community will come down hard on an illegitimate government, and the fortunes of the Guyanese people will once again be thwarted.

The three main organisations in which Guyana advances its interests are CARICOM, the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States. Each of them demands, in their charters and other declarations, the requirement for their member states to adhere to democracy and the rule of law.

Guyana is also a signatory to an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union under which it is committed to human rights and democracy. The installation of an unlawful government would trigger actions against Guyana in which the people would suffer for the actions of a few.

Powerful countries of the world will also target them and their families with sanctions for their violations of human, civil and political rights.

While Suriname will proceed to reap the reward of its democracy and its transparent elections by the embrace of the international community in the production and sale of its now considerable oil and gas resources, Guyana could see its prospects dim for any similar riches.

Even if any other CARICOM government wished to ignore disregard for democracy and the rule of law in Guyana, CARICOM, as an organisation, could not do so now.

The CARICOM Secretariat has played an outstanding role in observing these elections and pronouncing on them; CARICOM is bound to those pronouncements.

Further, CARICOM heads of government played a rightful role in ensuring that “every vote be counted, and every vote must count” in the general elections. The international community stepped back from its frontal role to give CARICOM the chance to deliver on a credible recount of the votes.

Therefore, CARICOM’s credibility is now tied to maintaining democracy and the rule of law in Guyana, and to act if those principles are crushed.

Guyana’s leaders of every political party, every race, and every religion now bear a great responsibility to their country and their people. They should seize this opportunity to show that Guyana is a democracy, and, within that democracy, they can fashion representative governance for all.

(CNGMedia)

NEWS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana records no new Grace Kennedy donates to COVID-19 case in 4 days vulnerable groups

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DCMO, Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle

or the fourth consecutive day, Guyana has recorded no new COVID-19 case, thus the number of positive cases remains at 153.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Karen GordonBoyle on Thursday noted that the last increase in cases was recorded on Sunday, when one was confirmed.

Another 20 new tests were done, and the number of deaths is 12.

According to statistics, to date, the total number of persons tested is 1,719, with the total number of negative cases being 1,566. There are currently 77 persons who have recovered; 64 persons are active cases in institutional isolation; three patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and 25 persons are in institutional quaran-

tine.

For now, bordering regions continue to remain on high alert in precaution against contracting the virus from neighbouring countries or from the entrance of non-nationals. Those regions facing imminent threats include One (Barima-Waini), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

“In the last 24 hours, Brazil recorded 11,598 cases and 623 deaths, so your adherence to health guidelines is imperative. Also, Suriname has recorded 26 new cases in the last 24 hours. Once again, the MoPH is encouraging residents to take extra precautions to protect themselves against COVID-19,” Dr Boyle advised residents of these areas. To assist with regional preparedness, she noted that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has donated 48 Prefab Housing Units to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) is the first to benefit from this initiative, which will assist the regions in their efforts to cater for patients affected by the coronavirus disease. These units will be set up in every region, with spe-

cial attention being placed on the very remote locations.

The DCMO implored, “We also want to remind persons who have underlying conditions, our pregnant women and parents, to ensure that you make contact with your nearest health facilities, to maintain your clinic schedules. It is important that your conditions are controlled.

We continue to encourage all Guyanese to utilise the services available to you, and (to) call the hotline. Make contact with the health facility nearest to you, or visit one of the COVID-19 facilities if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, or if you have been in contact with someone who tested positive.”

Dr Gordon-Boyle has commended the health teams and authorities who have mobilised in the fight against COVID-19.

“We must also thank the agencies that have come onboard, as well as the residents.

It is evident that with adherence to the guidelines put forward by the Ministry, the ability to contain this disease is possible,” she said.

The total number of cases globally is 6,287,771, with 379,941 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, the total number of cases is 2,949,455, with 165,311 deaths.

A range of GraceFoods products was donated to the Bless the Children-Guyana orphanage

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s the novel coronavirus continues to devastate parts of the world, and with Guyana being no exception, the GraceKennedy Money Services (Guyana) Ltd has partner with Grace Foods Latin America and the Caribbean to assist vulnerable institutions that have been impacted by the pandemic.

On Monday, GKMS donated packaged food items to the frontline workers at the

APNU/AFC holds out dead, migrated persons voted, despite evidence showing otherwise

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ith just a matter of days left before the National Recount is completed and the final results are announced, the incumbent APNU/AFC Coalition continues to push the false narrative that there was “massive voter fraud” on E-Day, and has demanded that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) respond by Friday, June 6, on how it intends to address the claims.

The Recount Order outlines clearly how the Commission should proceed in relation to the conduct of the recount exercise, up to the point of the declaration of the final results.

Coalition Campaign Manager Joe Harmon, in a brief video presentation on Thursday, again raised a number of allegations in relation to deceased and migrated persons “voting”, all of which have proven to be false.

“APNU/AFC delivered letters to GECOM on investigations being requested of irregularities which occurred on Elections Day. There has been no direct response by the Elections Commission to these letters,” Harmon disclosed. “We will have to get a decision from GECOM on this matter, and we are serving notice that we expect a decision by GECOM on these matters by the end of Friday… They must say to us how they will treat these

matters,” Harmon told viewers.

“You have a right to know what happened to your votes, and why persons who were not entitled to vote voted in the elections,” the top Coalition official added.

Legal minds have argued that GECOM cannot probe its own conduct. Matters in relation to alleged voter irregularities are for the court to deal with via an elections petition; and this could only be done after the results of the elections have been declared.

Over the past few days, various political stakeholders have found that many of the persons whom the APNU/AFC claimed were out of the jurisdiction but voted were in fact present in Guyana at the time of voting.

Several of these persons have since come forward to debunk the APNU/AFC claims, stories of which, have since been published

by Inews.

The continual stream of allegations of electoral fraud is contrary to the position taken by caretaker President David Granger, who told the media the day after the polls that the elections were “free, fair and orderly.”

The credible and transparent conduct of the elections was also reinforced

by GECOM Chairperson Justice (rtd) Claudette

APNU/AFC Campaign Manager Joe Harmon

Singh; all the accredited observer groups: OAS, Commonwealth, EU, Caricom, Carter Center, PSC; and by the diplomatic community. Stakeholders have agreed that while polling day activities were generally smooth and free and fair, tabulation of the District Four results landed the country into much controversy.

Barbados Ambassador to the OAS, Noel Lynch, had confirmed this during his report to the OAS Council, saying: “Irregularities occurred, not in the system by which the Guyanese electorate cast their votes on March 2nd, but in the presentation of the count afterwards”.

International and local observers had stated that it was very difficult for irregularities to occur during voting, considering all the foolproof systems that were in place to prevent same from happening. This is in addi-

tion to the presence of the various party agents, observers, and GECOM staff at each polling station.

As at Wednesday evening, based on the recount results, the PPP/C is leading with 187,519 votes in the General Elections, while the incumbent APNU/ AFC trails with just about 174,000 votes recounted in its favour.

The exercise will have to conclude by June 13, after which GECOM would have three days to declare a final result for the elections.

Diamond Diagnostic Centre and to the residents of Bless the Children Guyana orphanage. The packages contained canned and bottled items from Grace Foods, including meat and fish products which are distinctively Caribbean, as well as locally produced rice, flour, and other staples.

Troy Williams, Country Manager of GraceKennedy Money Services (Guyana) Ltd, said, “The company recognises both the untiring contribution of frontline workers in the fight against the Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the impact the virus has had on orphanages and their residents.

“We are pleased to join in with the rest of corporate Guyana in doing what we can to assist, using our very own Grace Foods products,” he said.

In keeping with the COVID-19 guidelines, GKMS (Guyana) said it has introduced measures such as sanitising and social distancing during the pandemic, to ensure its staff and customers are provided a safe environment for conducting their transactions.

Most GKMS/Western Union locations nationwide have remained open since

the COVID-19 outbreak, ensuring money can be sent quickly to loved ones.

Grace Foods has been a partner in many regional food drives in response to the overwhelming need to help feed families experiencing hardship during the pandemic. The company has been involved in regional food manufacturing, distribution, and sale since 1922.

Commenting on the donations, Stephen Sadler, Regional Manager of Grace Foods Latin America and the Caribbean, underscored that he was only too aware of the essential role Grace Foods plays in keeping societies functioning during these unprecedented times.

“We felt compelled to respond to the immediate needs of the members of the communities where we operate, while also heeding the increasing clamour for strengthening food security across the region beyond COVID-19,” he said.

GKMS has been registered and serving Guyanese as the exclusive agent of Western Union Financial Services – one of the most trusted Money Transfer companies in the world since 1992.

ECD ballots remain...

FROM PAGE 11

Together with the 220 votes tabulated from across the electoral districts for The New Movement (TNM), the joinder alliance has so far collectively had 4665 of their votes ascertained through the recount process.

The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) – another of the new political parties contesting the elections – has so far seen 593 ballots earmarked for its showing in this year’s general elections.

The United Republican Party has had 337 votes tabulated in its favour.

An assessment of the votes tabulated thus far gives the PPP/C 50 per

cent of the ballots cast and recounted thus far, while the coalition APNU/AFC commands just over 48 per cent of the votes with the six new political parties accounting for just about two per cent of the electorate’s vote.

Shuman’s LJP has emerged as the frontrunner among the smaller parties securing the highest number of votes apart from the traditional juggernauts.

The ballot boxes left to be recounted are primarily from polling stations along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) while 2063 of the 2097 boxes recounted thus far have had

the votes tabulated.

The Commission is expected to complete the recount and tabulation exercise by Monday at which time Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield is expected to amalgamate the results in order to be presented to the Commission for its deliberation.

According to the gazetted Order, Lowenfield has until June 13 to deliver his report at which time the Commission will have three days to decide on whether to have him use the results contained in that report for the official declaration of the March 2 polls.

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Results from recount numbers will be credible – OAS T

he Organization of American States (OAS), which has a local presence at the ongoing National Recount, says it has no reason to doubt that the results that will come out of the process will be credible.

This statement comes on the heels of the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) saying on Wednesday that the results from the recount cannot be credible, given the high “incidence of fraud”. The party has claimed that votes were cast in the name of dead and migrated persons, and as such, is calling for the March 2 elections to be nullified.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the OAS, of which Guyana is a member, said, “Despite some inconsistencies in the electoral materials reviewed during the recount, as is normally the case in any electoral process, the OAS Mission has no reason to doubt that the results emanating from the recount will be credible. A declaration based on these results would lead to the installation of a legitimate government.”

According to the 33-member hemispheric body which deployed an Elections Observation Mission (EOM) to monitor the March 2 elections, “The people of Guyana have been patient, and they now deserve a peaceful transition of government based on the majority vote as reflected in the recount and in support of democracy and the rule of law, which all OAS member states expect to be upheld.”

With just about 242 ballot boxes remaining to be counted, the recount exercise is expected to be wrapped up early next week ahead of its June 13 deadline, and three days later, on June 16, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is expected to make a final declaration of the results of the General and Regional Elections that were held more than three months ago.

The OAS said in its missive on Thursday that its international election observers have been present at the recount centre at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) each day of the National Recount and re-

ported that the review of the ballot boxes is being conducted in “a professional, transparent and impartial” fashion, which allowed members of GECOM, political parties and other stakeholders to accurately determine the results for each polling station.

Reminding that, at the invitation of President David Granger and with the agreement of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, the recount is being conducted in the presence of three high-level and well-respected scrutineers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the OAS recalled that both Guyanese leaders had agreed to accept the results of the recount as final.

The recount has thus far unearthed massive fraud from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Guyana’s largest voting district. It has found that embattled Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo heavily inflated numbers in favour of the APNU/AFC, giving the incumbent Coalition a landslide lead over the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

The OAS was among electoral observers, both local and foreign, that have deemed the Region Four results as lacking transparency and credibility. In fact, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who had led the OAS EOM to monitor Guyana’s elections, last month presented his preliminary report to the Permanent Council of the OAS, during which he said he had “never seen a more transparent effort to alter the results of an election… You know, it takes an extraordinarily courageous mind to present fictious numbers when such a sturdy paper trail exists, and this is being illustrated now as the recount proceeds.”

According to the OAS Secretariat in its statement on Thursday, its EOM has repeatedly requested copies of the Statements of Poll (SoPs) prepared at each polling station on election night, and the Statements of Recount (SoRs) prepared during the current process, in order to do its own analysis of the original and the re-

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro

counted results. This, it said, is amidst the several challenges experienced in the 2020 electoral process, particularly concerns about the presence of inaccurate information.

“Access to these materials is guaranteed by the Electoral Procedures Agreement signed between the OAS and GECOM on February 26, 2020.

Regrettably GECOM has refused to provide the Mission with these important documents,” the organization noted.

Only Wednesday,

Guyanese-born international diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders warned that Guyana could be suspended from the OAS as well as the Commonwealth if the ongoing National Recount of the ballots cast at the March 2 elections does not produce a government that reflects the majority vote.

He said, “Guyana risks also being suspended from the Organization of American States, but not just being suspended, the Organization of American States will also have to determine what other action it may take at a bilateral level of its 33 Member States acting against Guyana”.

Sanders cautioned that it only takes one or two member countries to decide whether sanctions should be imposed, as he reminded that both the United States and Canada are also OAS members.

The two North American countries have been pushing for credible results of the March 2 elections, and warned of consequences if this is not done.

COVID-19

Guyanese in NY support “Black New health-and-safety feature Lives Matter” movement in place at Linden checkpoint

“We’ve seen on television too many times this seeming replay, where people are abusing the Afro-American community…but enough is enough, there comes a time

Derek Chauvin, was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter – but these charges were elevated following days of immense demonstrations. Chauvin now faces a second-degree murder charge. Meanwhile, three other officers who were involved in the incident, who were previously uncharged, are now facing counts of aiding and abetting murder.

Floyd, 46, was stopped by Police investigating the purchase of cigarettes with counterfeit money on May 25 in Minneapolis. He died after being arrested outside of the shop in Minneapolis.

A video showed Floyd being arrested and the white

when it has to stop,” Dr Narine stated.

The protest attracted approximately 30 persons, including Guyanese and Punjabis, as well as leaders in the religious and business communities in Richmond Hill South Ozone Park, NY. The massive protests which have erupted across the USA as well as in other parts of the world were triggered by the murder of George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis Police officers.

The main perpetrator,

officer Chauvin continuing to kneel on his neck for several minutes, even after the man pleaded that he could not breathe.

Since the incident, protests have erupted across America as well as globally in countries like France, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The George Floyd Protests have evolved into a movement against racism and police brutality against people of colour, specifically AfricanAmericans.

Some of those who gathered for the peaceful picketing exercise in NY on Thursday

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nited Statesbased Guyanese on Thursday participated in a picketing exercise in Richmond Hill, New York aimed at supporting the “Black Lives Matter” movement. The exercise has been triggered by the gruesome death of an African-American man at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers.

The protest was organised by Vishnu Mahadeo, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Diaspora Council. In an interview with <<Guyana Times>>, he explained why it was important for Guyanese living in the US, along with other immigrants, to show support for the current wave of “Black Lives Matter” protests against racism and the police killings of black Americans.

“We came to the US and we are enjoying the liberty and quality of life…so we cannot just sit back and allow this to happen without giving our solidarity and support,” Mahadeo, a Guyanese, explained.

Dr Dhanpaul Narine, who is also Guyanese, expressed similar sentiments during a meeting with the participants of the picketing exercise.

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s the number of persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) continues to increase, the Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) is now intensifying its efforts to eliminate the spread.

While there is a temperature testing site presently set up at the entry into Linden -at Bamia, along the LindenSoesdyke Highway -- a new health and safety feature was recently added. Vehicles are now being sprayed at the checkpoint, which serves as a main security entrance into the Region, and according to Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell, there are also plans to have vehicles sprayed upon exit.

“Through the RHEC, the decision was made that they should start to spray vehicles upon entrance, and I think they’re also attempting to do that on exit. And that came out of the Agriculture Department (of the Regional Democratic Council). They’re using a solution…to spray those vehicles, the wheels and more so the handles….

So that’s happening right now as a means to minimise the virus entering into Linden… It’s something that has been put in place, and so far, it’s working for us”, Arrindell, who is also part of the Committee, recently stated.

With the numbers increasing, Arrindell said, it is now time to work to have persons in the community adjust to social distancing guidelines during the day. She noted that there is still too much movement of persons in Linden during this time.

A health official checking the temperature of an individual at one of the checkpoints

“Our biggest concern is (that) during the day time persons are still moving around too much. It’s hoped that persons would understand the importance of staying at home, unless you need to be on the roadways. I think the gazetted document sent out by the Ministry of (Public) Health speaks to that, and so what we’re trying to attempt at this point is to see how we can work with persons adhering during the day to social distancing in terms of on the parks; on our roadways and in transportation, the cars and the buses”, she explained.

The Mayor added that the Linden Mayor and Town Council has also been observing the movement of people in public spaces in the community, including at transportation parks and market areas. As such, she noted that there has been a noticeable reduction when compared to times past.

Nevertheless, she said there is still need to further limit daytime movements.

“So it’s a work in progress, and of course we want to encourage persons to stay at home as much as (they) possibly can”, she said.

Additionally, Arrindell explained that increased regular sanitisation is also in the pipeline for essential areas in Linden.

“We’re trying to sanitise the markets as often as possible. We have washed the market place twice so far, but what we’re trying to do now, we’re trying to do basic sanitizing at least two times a week. We’re going to be spraying the market and so forth”, she noted.

The Council, she stressed, is urging market vendors to sanitise their work space as much as possible, and she highlighted that the Council’s sanitisation workers have been trained by the Public Health Ministry to carry out such functions. She said there has so far been a collective effort by Government, Regional officials and businesses in the provision of protective gear for frontline workers within the Region. However, she explained that there is still need for more.

On Wednesday, the Region recorded its 10th COVID-19 case. So far, there has been one death linked to the virus in the Region.

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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Mingoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fraudulent declarations further exposed S

ince the commencement of the national recount of the votes cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections, there have been several instances which proved that the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo inflated the numbers in favour of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/

AFC) Government.

Below are additional instances from the national recount exercise showing Mingoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fraudulent declarations of the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections in District 4.

16 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Mingoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fraudulent declarations further exposed

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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Mingo’s fraudulent declarations further exposed

Comparison of Thursday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

18 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Comparison of Thursday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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Comparison of Thursday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

20 ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Comparison of Thursday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

ELECTIONS 2020 RECOUNT

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Comparison of Thursday’s SoRs with PPP’s SoPs DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF RECOUNT

DISTRICT 4 STATEMENTS OF POLL RELEASED BY PPP/C

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guyanatimesgy.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

It is obvious victory is in sight Dear Editor, The APNC-AFC put in motion a rigging machine to rig the 2020 General and Regional Elections after they had allegedly won the 2015 General and Regional Elections. It started with the unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson to the helm of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

One must be reminded that the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) had to move to the courts to have that handpicked Chairman removed, which was done in June after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had ruled that the appointment was flawed.

The next plan of action was to have GECOM spend $3 billion embarking on an ill-advised house-tohouse (H2H) registration exercise in 2019. This exercise was truncated after 370,000 persons were registered.

The H2H was deemed a ‘must’ by David Granger and his cabal, who said, “It is evident from the evidence provided that the voters List was bloated… given the size of our population, and much attention was focused on sanitising that voters List”.

After the Claims and Objections period was completed, there have been 32 objections to a list that the APNU+AFC claimed was bloated by more than 200,000 names.

The claims and objections were a very transparent process which GECOM had embark on. During this process, every political party in Guyana had the opportunity to make valid objections and remove persons who should not be on the voters list.

It was the APNU/AFC caretaker Government that made objections to thousands of living persons, claiming them to be dead. There was a fear that the APNU-AFC had a ploy to disenfranchise thousands of voters with a whopping 13,000 objections that were made in Region Five (MahaicaBerbice) during the recently concluded Objections leg of the Claims and Objections period (C&O) in November 2019).

Amazingly, it was the PPP/C that fought to ensure Guyanese were not disenfranchised.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), however, rejected those objections to a total of over 13,000 names being on the voters’ list in Region Five alone.

The APNU-AFC cabal need to make up their minds. Is it the DEAD or the LIVING they are objecting to? However, the People's Progressive Party/ Civic was confident about winning the 2020 Elections if they are free and fair, but were concerned about the rigging by the PNCR masters. The biggest concern by all the opposition sup-

porters was always that the elections would not be free and fair.

The opposition always knew that the PNC (People’s Nations Congress – the largest party in the APNU faction of the governing coalition) would attempt to create confusion by attempting to tamper with, and rig, these elections, but the opportunities to do so were limited, based on the safeguard of our electoral process.

The PPP/C has been constantly fighting off such efforts to rig the 2020 General Elections.

All along, the Caretaker Government’s plans have been stymied because of a vigilant public, the free press, and our struggles to expose attempts to prepare for such an eventuality.

Then came the Governmentnominated Commissioners at GECOM attempting to disenfranchise thousands of Guyanese who failed to uplift their National Identification (ID) Cards as well as contaminating the voters’ list by merging the unverified data obtained during the H2H exercise with the NRR, while the People's Progressive Party managed to thwart all these efforts by GECOM and the APN/ AFC Administration. They were also faced with a similar attempt when they wanted to use a flawed sampling system to verify the approximately 20,000 new registrants.

A total of $8 billion from the treasury had been given to GECOM to conduct that operation in 2019. for this massive expenditure, we have been faced with constant efforts to confuse and frustrate the electorate.

The no-confidence motion against the governing APNU/AFC Coalition by the Opposition, filed in our country's Parliament on December 21, 2018, finally resulted in a general election that took place on March 2, 2020, a year after it was constitutionally due.

Just as controversy plagued the vote of no-confidence, so, too, has it afflicted the way the results of the election are being handled.

Three months after the vote, a clear winner has not emerged, but we continue to read editorial after editorial with captions like (GECOM) “working in the interest” of the current Government and “rigging the 2020 general elections right before our eyes”, "Election observers urge GECOM to announce results in a timely fashion".

Nine of Guyana's ten administrative regions had declared their results. The PPP was in the lead by more than 50,000 votes.

The only area left to declare its results was the APNU stronghold of Region 4, which includes the capital, Georgetown, continuing southward to Timehri, along the East

Bank of the Demerara River.

Then all hell break loose. In a highly unusual move, election authorities delayed posting the results for the country’s most populous voting district, known as Region 4.

All previous elections in Guyana have been determined by the voter turnout in this area. As Region 4 goes, so goes the election victory. Region 4 voters were effectively and arbitrarily disenfranchised by the Guyana Elections Commission.

Despite strong criticism from domestic and international observers for a lack of transparency, the Elections Commission released results to the media on March 13. The results show a win by the APNU– AFC coalition by 59,077 votes, which would give APNU-AFC a one-seat majority in the National Assembly.

The PPPP immediately rejected the results, and demanded a recount with independent observers in place. It accused the Granger Administration of vote-rigging and “thievery.”

In the aftermath of the contested vote, various international observer missions in-country, including the EU, Organization of American States (OAS), The Commonwealth and the Carter Center, concluded that “the tabulation of results for the election in Region 4 was interrupted, and remains incomplete.”

The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada have monitored the process closely. They have made clear to all parties, including the Elections Commission, the need for a free, fair, transparent recount process to ensure the legitimacy of the victor and the subsequent Government.

After a lengthy legal battle and a decision by the Supreme Court, which was not initially accepted by the Government or the Elections Commission, the Commission did eventually adhere to the decision.

It announced a recount of election ballots, which began on May 6, but failed to conclude within the 25 days allotted.

A new recount deadline has been set for June 13, with a final election decision to be announced on June 16. The Opposition has expressed “grave doubt” concerning the lack of transparency in the process so far, and questioned the Commission’s credibility in conducting the recount fairly and transparently.

The recount observation process includes only one high-level three-person delegation from CARICOM and a local OAS presence — enough to cover only a fraction of the counting stations. The Granger Government denied requests by the Carter

Center to return to observe the recount.

The APNU/AFC now claim that the recount has revealed that the election of March 2, 2020 was riddled with fraudulent practices, and listed these as “the dead voted, people out of the jurisdiction voted, many unstamped ballots, missing certificates of employment, missing poll books, ballots cast over and above the number on the OLE, and other fraudulent practices.”

The APNU/AFC has failed to provide evidence of its allegations of fraud.

In cases where it claims the names of the dead or those out of the country were marked off as having voted, it tells the GECOM officer in the recount that it will provide the evidence later.

It raised no such objection for all of the two months following the elections, until the recount started.

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall in saying, “Once a fraud has been committed, it nullifies or voids the entire process.”

The People's Progressive Party have always stuck to their guns; the SOPs prove they WON the elections, and they will not shift the goalpost and will stick to this position. “It is obvious victory is in sight" for the People's Progressive Party/ Civic.

But it is the APNU/ AFC Coalition, which continually changes its narrative, which has shifted the goalpost after claiming victory and holding a victory party after District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo had made his fraudulent declaration on March 6.

Suspicion is that the Granger Government wants to cling to power because of the revenue experts project will be generated by ExxonMobil for oil exploration in a series of offshore wells being developed.

The international community has an essential role to play in demanding and accepting nothing less than a transparent and credible recount process, to ensure the will of the Guyanese people is honoured in their next People's Progressive Party-elected Government.

Guyana stands at the threshold of an entirely new future. Its people deserve political leadership that looks to the common good over narrow interest. Guyanese everywhere: Guyana stands poised for a take-off. We are on the cusp of becoming a developed nation with enough wealth for this nation to take off on the road to massive growth under the leadership of a People's Progressive Party/Civicelected President.

Sincerely, David Adams

Religious leaders should speak out against post-election violence Dear Editor, Historically, the election results in Guyana have been an occasion for unusual tension - usually instigated by politicians, preachers, panellists, presenters, and partisan pulpiteers of various strands.

Invariably, this tension results in violence, whereby property is destroyed and people lose their lives or are threatened in various forms.

As Christians, we urge others – especially church leaders -- to take this opportunity at this critical moment to make a difference in the moral fabric of the nation through the things we do and say.

We implore Christian and other religious leaders, as well as activists, to use whatever means available – their meetings, pulpits, the print and social media, their tongues and their bodies – to proclaim the message of love and peace during these desperate times in the country.

As the Lord has instructed, at all times, we need to be salt and light to reflect the very character of God. Therefore, we need to refrain from saying and doing those things that could cause others to hate the other because of dissonance of one’s political choice, one’s ethnic background, or because of colour, creed, or texture of hair.

Perhaps it is also time for us to be introspective and examine ourselves for racism, even though we do not want to acknowledge it publicly or even privately, and approach God and society with a renewed spirit and heart.

We especially call upon pol-

iticians and leaders in civil society to denounce any form of violence following the announcement of the elections’ results. Failure to do so could result in wounds that could be broad, deep, and long-lasting, and could take generations to heal.

What constitutes acknowledgement and praise of God? Is it the quoting of Scripture or utterance of fanciful religious talk? No; it is being mindful of God’s commandments and walking the talk and emulating His grace in everything we do and say.

Indeed, brothers and sisters, in view of all we know about God's compassion, we encourage each one to offer your tongues, your bodies, your actions, your holistic selves as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him (paraphrase of Rom. 12:1).

Dare we be a Daniel and take a stand for righteousness and holiness? Shall we betray the Lord, or deny Him with our resolve to close our eyes to wrongs for political expedience or tribal consolidation? Or shall we remain faithful to Him and trust in His faithfulness?

Our hope and prayer ought to be, “Not our will, but Your will be done, O Lord. Amen!”

May our love for God and devotion to Him take precedence over political or racial preference – for His honour and glory, and for the healing of the nation.

Yours truly, Devanand Bhagwan Allan Johns Oscar Ramjeet

Crime and Justice Dear Editor, The world has been aghast at the recent sight of a white police officer squeezing the life out of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

This was a blatant act of racism and police brutality, and must be condemned.

Such inhumanity is considered justified when a section of the population of any country is relegated to the status of second-class citizens. Apart from discrimination based on race, in many countries, there are some who, by some twisted logic, tend to regard those who came later as lesser citizens, regardless of the sacrifices of their forefathers and their ongoing contributions to national development.

In Guyana too, where race plays a major role in politics, there is a small group of so-called intellectuals who feel that there should be hierarchical categorisation of the citizenry based on when our forefathers first landed on our shores.

A crime is a crime, and hopefully, justice will be meted out to the police officers involved.

In Guyana, a horrendous potential crime is about to be re-enacted, unless the Elections Commission is committed to asserting its independence and is prepared to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The APNU and its political concubines are determined to remain in power at any cost. The APNU has wasted no time in whipping up its base support into a frenzy, claiming victory in the recent general elections. This is a manoeuvre to set the stage for social unrest. The APNU is an offspring of the former PNC,

which has a history of electoral malfeasance. A leopard cannot change its spots, even if it moves from spot to spot.

The complicity of the AFC is based purely on self-interest, and perhaps the same applies to the WPA. I had the privilege of rendering medical care to Donald Rodney for injuries sustained when his brother Walter was killed, after which members of the WPA and its supporters shouted shame on the PNC. Now I say shame on the WPA. The attempt by the Government of the day to create discord among the Guyana Police Force and the GDF is fraught with danger. When it comes to law and order, I trust that the security forces will put their country first, and make every effort to protect the lives and property of everyone, regardless of their perceived political affiliation.

We are here because our forefathers were brought here.

We were born here; we have all worked hard to make a contribution to this country, and all Guyanese deserve equal justice and protection.

In a democracy, the right to vote is sacred. Evil machinations of the electoral system must not be allowed to triumph, and those who seek to subvert the system must not be rewarded. The international community is watching, and hopefully will intervene with appropriate sanctions if APNU and its cohorts attempt to hijack the elections.

Sincerely, Dr Ganraj Kumar, Former Leader, Liberator Party

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

International Virtual Archery Competition…

23

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Robert Singh completing his term under the watchful eye of Coach Umasankar Madray

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rchery Guyana proudly fielded two archers at the 60X ISOL Remote Shoot Competition held on 31st May 2020.

This was the ninth stage of this novel

Virtual Archery Competition, wherein approximately 100 archers from 16 countries from as far away as Norway, Australia, Britain, Belgium, and even closer to home - British Virgin Islands -

participated.

The aim of this competition is to keep archers focused on maintaining fitness and competitiveness during the worldwide quarantine that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guyanese Winnette Lawrence and Robert Singh competed in the 30m Compound and the 30m Recurve Bows categories respectively. Both categories comprised of two sessions, each with 36 arrows.

On his first venture at this competition, Robert Singh scored 556/720 and placed 7th in a group of nine archers. At the end of the competition, Singh said it was a tough competition with high-calibre archers producing high-level scores.

Singh noted that while he was satisfied with his performance, he recognises there was much room for improvement.

This is her second venture in this competition, and Winnette Lawrence pointed out that she experienced issues with her equipment, which affected her performance. She scored 563/720.

Lawrence previously explained how the competition works: “Registration had to be done online, and we had to choose which session we would shoot,

and distance. Because of lockdown, some persons had to scale down their target face to suit a distance. For inspection of the bows, we had to take a picture of it as well as the target face, and send online.

They also send a QR code for you to log on and send scores. After every end, we had to send a picture of arrows in target for scoring.”

In that Sunday’s competition, Winnette Lawrence regrettably experienced equipment failure. In a statement, she said: “My stabilizer broke and my sight got loose. I am placed 12 out of 12, but still proud of myself to continue to the end amidst the failure of my equipment; so, I blame myself 75%. As an elite archer, being placed 182 in the world, I should have known to always check my bow and arrows before going into a competition.”

The next stage of this Virtual Competition is stage 10, scheduled for June 7th, 2020, and Archery Guyana is working towards having its members continue to participate.

Archery Guyana urges Archers with access to ranges or home facilities to participate. All archers are mandated to observe their national health and safety requirements and the World Health Organisation’s guidelines pertaining to controlling and preventing the dreaded COVID-19 virus.

− says Chemar Holder on his maiden Windies call-up

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223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

ad Marva Holder been alive, she would have been a very proud grandmother; because, on Wednesday, her grandson, Chemar Holder, received a call from Cricket West Indies to participate in his first tour with the men’s senior team, which will play three Tests in England starting on July 8. Chemar Holder is the leading pace bowler in the West Indies Championships that concluded in March; and for him, this call-up is a dream come true. “It was a good feeling yesterday (Wednesday) when I got the call to know that I was included in the 15. It was something that I was always looking forward to, and now I have got the opportunity to represent my country,” he said.The 22-year-old Holder took 36 wickets at a healthy average of 18.91 during the championships, which came to an abrupt end with two rounds to go because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was left just four wickets shy of the target he had set at the start of the season.

The West Indies selectors have rewarded him with a place in the senior squad that is set to play the ‘bio-secure’ Test series.

“Chemar Holder is an exciting young fast bowling talent who is coming off an excellent domestic first-class season. He should enjoy bowling in English conditions.

He could prove a real asset to the team in England,” said Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies Chief Selector.

Holder comes from a cricket-loving family, and has always enjoyed their support.

“If things are not going well, they all talk to me, tell me to keep my head up, everything is not going to be the same,” he said. “So, I always get support from them, especially my grandmother, who passed away; she was always my big supporter.

“She stayed up all night and watched me during the U19 World Cup. Every time I play I remember her, so she would be happy to find out this news if she was alive today,” he reminisced.

Marva Holder passed away in 2016 Chemar Holder at the age of 72. (Sportsmax)

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remier League teams will be able to make five substitutions rather than three in each match to the end of the season, after clubs approved new rules.Teams will also be able to name nine substitutes instead of the usual seven.Football's international law-makers have given competitions the option of increasing substitutes to protect player welfare on the sport's resumption.Premier League football will return on 17 June, after a three-month absence. An announcement of the first few rounds of fixtures to be played since the campaign was halted by coronavirus on 13 March is expected in the next 24 hours.

Though teams can now make five substitutions, each team would have only three

opportunities to make changes throughout the match, in order to minimise disruption to the game.

Clubs have also agreed in principle to the use of neutral venues if required, although the vast majority of matches are expected to be played in their usual grounds, barring local spikes in coronavirus cases.A draft document detailing the extensive biosecurity measures required for each match has been circulated. It is believed the number of people in the stadium while each match is being played would be limited to about 300.

How to end the season, decide the league positions, and the possible consequences should it prove impossible to play the remaining matches was discussed at a meeting of clubs,

N

ew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has said, "It breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused," following his opposition to NFL kneeling protests.

Brees was criticised, including by team-mate Malcolm Jenkins, for saying such protests would be "disrespecting the flag" of the United States.

Former NFL star Colin

divisive and hurtful, and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character."

Brees has said he wants to apologise to his "friends, team-mates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community, and anyone I hurt".

"I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability," he added.

"I recognise that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen.

For that, I am very sorry, and I ask your forgiveness," he said.

Brees has thrown 547 touchdown passes, more In response to comments made by than any quarterback in NFL history Brees on Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo, Saints’ Safety Jenkins said his Kaepernick team-mate was "part of the problem". began kneeling during the playing of the "Drew, unfortunately you're US National Anthem in 2016 as a means somebody that doesn't understand their to highlight racial injustice. privilege," said 32-year-old Jenkins in an Brees said his comments lacked emotional video on social media. "You "awareness, compassion or empathy". don't understand the potential you have This comes in to actually be an advocate for the people the wake of global that you call brothers. protests held following the death "You don't understand the history, of George Floyd, an unarmed black and why people like me - people with man, while being restrained by a my skin colour, whose grandfathers white police officer fought for this country…I still protested in Minneapolis on - not against the National Anthem, but but decision has been delayed 25 May. against what was happening in America to concentrate on the return Many athletes and what the fabric of this country of action.The International have also supported stands for."

Football Association Board said in Kaepernick, who Jenkins added: "While the world tells May that the temporary changes was frozen out of you that you're not worthy, that your life to substitutions had been the league after his doesn't matter, the last place you want made for interrupted 2019-20 protest, and has to hear it from are the guys that you competitions, as "matches may been unemployed go to war with, that you consider to be be played in a condensed period since being released allies and to be your friends. in different weather conditions, by the San Francisco "Even though we're team-mates, both of which could have impacts 49ers in 2017.

I can't let this slide. Drew Brees, if you on player welfare".Concerns had "I made don't understand how hurtful, how been raised about the reduced comments that insensitive your comments are, you are preparation time that players were insensitive part of the problem. The whole country have had before the season's and completely is on fire, and the first thing that you do resumption, with Premier League missed the mark is to criticise one's peaceful protest. That teams returning to contact on the issues we was years ago, when we were trying to training only at the end of May. are facing right now signal a sign for help, to signal for our Newcastle club doctor Paul as a country," said allies -- our white brothers and sisters, Catterson told BBC Radio 5 Live Brees in an apology the people we consider to be friends -on Tuesday that he is expecting on Instagram. to get involved. It was ignored." (BBC more injuries as the intensity of “Instead, those Sport) training increases.(BBC Sport) words have become

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

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Permaul’s omission from Windies Tour to England…

…call for urgent CWI explanation

G

uyana Jaguars left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul continues to be ignored by the West Indies se-

Test team that is due to tour the UK in July.

Both the club to which he is affiliated, Albion Community Centre Cricket Club, and the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) have expressed disappointment at Permaul’s non-sel e c tion, and are

Veerasammy Permaul

lectors, and has been overlooked for selection to the

calling for an immediate explanation from Cricket West Indies (CWI).

BCB statement

Does performance matter any more in West Indies cricket, or are the players being judged by other factors that we are unaware of?

Those were the thoughts of the BCB when they heard about the non-selection of Veersammy Permaul to the 14-man squad to tour England, which will depart on June 8.

“It gets more puzzling when he cannot even make the squad of eleven reserves, despite been the leading bowler in the 2020 regional four-day tour-

International Virtual Archery Competition…

Pg 23 Winnette Lawrence

nament with 50 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls in an innings and two ten-wicket hauls in a match.

“Some of the players who have made the team have not returned performances even remotely close to Permaul’s, and yet they continue to be ahead of him in the eyes of the selectors.

Vemen Walter Albion CC President BCB President Hilbert Foster “What mesyoung man’s dominance with serves to be on a senior resage are the West the ball in both the Regional Indies selectors sending to gional team, and this pro- First Class and Limited our players when they turn a found nonsense needs to stop Overs’ tournaments over the blind eye to performances of with immediate effect. years, with the abbreviat“Shame on the persons the highest standard and reed just concluded 2019/2020 responsible for his non- seward those at rock bottom?

First Class season being no “In the last six years, lection, and surely you must exception, where he bagged Permaul, of the Albion CC, have some guilt in your con- fifty (50) wickets. has taken 290 wickets at science, that you did the “Selection must be based the senior four-day level at young man wrong. purely on merit, and un“My dear Berbicians, I an average of 16.90, and doubtedly Permaul merits would like to plead with you has 18 five-wicket hauls and his selection based on his perseven ten-wicket hauls in a to pray for our young hero, formance. What wrong has match. This performance is that God would continue to he done? His performance unmatched by anyone in the bless him, to inspire him, speaks for itself year after Caribbean, and yet he last and to give him courage to year, season after season, yet played Test cricket in 2015, continue working. Continue he continues to be ignored by ODI in 2017, and 20/20 in to break down the door with the selectors.” performances, so that they 2018.

In the last six years, the “The BCB would like to would recognise that they left-arm-spinner and superbcondemn, in the strongest have been wrong to you. ly capable lower-order bats“Berbicians have been possible way, the sickening man has taken 290 wickets at treatment being handed out known for their inner courage the regional first-class level, to this outstanding son of and strength, and we always at a very impressive average Berbice, and would like for rise to the top despite efforts of 16.90. This is inclusive of an explanation to be given to keep us down. Please be as- 18 five-wickets hauls in an insured of my personal support on his non-selection. nings, and 7 ten-wicket hauls “Had a decision been along with that of the entire or more in a match. With over taken that Permaul’s ca- management of the BCB, and 536 first class wickets under reer is over when he is just we would continue to do so his belt, Permaul’s perfor30 years old, or is there an- until justice is given. mance is unmatched, but he “To Mr Vemen Walters other unknown factor for was able only to represent the his non-selection? is he un- and the Albion CC, please West Indies in six test matchdisciplined? Is he consid- keep the faith and upkeep es, the last of which was in ered just a regional bowler, the good work you are doing 2015. or is he too old? We deserve to keep Berbice Cricket flying Permaul’s non-selection to to know, as the BCB is, high.” the Cricket West Indies team without doubt, the hardest for the tour to England is a Albion CCCC statement working cricket board in the disincentive to young crickThe Albion Community Caribbean, and we would eters, not only at Albion but Centre Cricket Club not sit back and watch our in Berbice, Guyana and the (ACCCC) wishes to express cricketers being treated like West Indies as a whole. its extreme disappointment second-class citizens. They “We, at the Albion yet again with the non-sedeserve better.

Community Centre Cricket lection of Veerasammy “Over the last decade, I Club, therefore demand an Permaul to the Cricket West have always found Permaul explanation from the Cricket Indies’ team for the imto be a very committed, foWest Indies’ selectors for pending tour to England. cused, disciplined, and Permaul’s non-selection, as In a press release, the whole-heartened player. It we are eager to know what is an undisputed fact that, Club stated that Permaul’s more he must do to be selectbased on performances, omission is mind-boggling, ed.”

Veersammy Permaul de- taking into consideration the

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