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Guyana records 11 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours – total active cases now 72
Climbing at an alarming rate, Guyana’s COVID-19 statistics took a startling jump to 150 confirmed cases on Thursday, after 11 persons tested positive during a 24- hour period.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who delivered the daily update, noted that the number of deaths remain 11.
Some 1559 tests were conducted thus far, with 1409 returning a negative result. In the designated facilities, there are 72 cases in institutional isolation, 11 persons in institutional quarantine and two patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). To date, there have been 67 recoveries.
“Guyanese, we are a resilient nation, and this resilience was built on the wisdom of those who came before us. Let us take a page out of their book and act wisely. Let us invest in those who will come after us by adhering to the guidance provided to us,” the CMO said during his address.
Dr Persaud highlighted that Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) is the only administrative region that has not reported a single case of the novel coronavirus – an achievement which they are hoping to maintain.
“We applaud the residents of Region Eight and their efforts in putting measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as this disease continues to ravage the neighbouring country Brazil. Region Eight remains free of this disease and we at the Ministry of Public Health will continue to work with you to maintain this status,” the CMO declared.
However, he pointed out that authorities were especially worried about Region One (Barima-Waini), owing to the increased movement of people.
“You may have already heard of the Ministry’s growing concern for this region, especially as there is a continuous movement of persons in and out of the Region, which makes residents extremely vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19. So, residents of Region One and particularly our miners, I plead with you to take extra care and adhere to the guidelines for mining in order to protect your families and friends,” the CMO urged.
It was mentioned earlier that Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) is also facing an imminent threat from neighbouring Brazil – now considered South America’s epicentre for the coronavirus.
He advised persons to utilise the hotlines to make reports of suspected cases, and report instances where migrants or other non-nationals are entering the country through closed borders.
“Please report if you have information of non-nationals entering your region especially now that the border is closed. The non-official crossings are adding to the burden of surveillance. We continue to plead with residents to call the hotline if you present any signs or symptoms consistent with the coronavirus disease.”
Discrimination
In some sub-districts, the senior health official said there were reports of discrimination meted out to persons suspected to have the virus. Some persons in Region One are also refusing to cooperate with authorities.
“We ask in this crisis, that instead of shunning your fellow citizens that you use this opportunity to come together as one and be tolerant. Residents of the communities in Region One, the worst scenario will be your refusal to cooperate with the medical authorities and the guidelines. This fight is for everyone and so I ask you to act responsibly: if a death occurs, then you should support the bereaved family, if someone recovers, you should reach out and give your total support,” he insisted.
Presently, permanent mobile units have been established in Regions Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice) to effectively deal with persons who came into contact with positive cases and also, to administer treatment to individuals presenting symptoms.
The CMO noted that while sample collecting caused some discomfort, it should be done correctly to yield accurate results.
“I understand that this process is somewhat uncomfortable; however, we beg you to cooperate despite
– Region 1 residents urged to report entry of non-nationals Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud
the discomfort. You will appreciate that if the process is not performed accurately and the sample is insufficient, we can have the wrong results. So, we ask all of you to give the testing team your full cooperation.”
Globally, the statistics show that the total number of COVID-19 cases is 5,488,825 with 349,095 deaths. In the Region of the Americas, there are 2,495,924 cases with 145,810 deaths.
The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:
Friday, May 29 – 09:30h-11:00h and Saturday, May 30 – 10:30h-12:00h.
The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Friday, May 29 – 08:40h-10:10h and Saturday, May 30 – 09:50h-11:20h.
FERRY SCHEDULE Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily
WEATHER TODAY
Heavy to light rain showers with occasional thunder are expected followed by cloudy to sunny skies in the afternoon hours. There should be partly cloudy conditions and light rain showers in the evening. Temperatures should range between 22 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.
Winds: East to North North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.
High Tide: 09:23h and 22:13h reaching maximum heights of 2.35 metres and 2.26 metres.
Low Tide: 15:34h reaching a minimum height of 0.84 metre.
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3FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS “It was impossible to cheat” on Elections Day – EU Ambassador
By Devina Samaroo
EU Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponz Canto, has posited that it would have been “impossible” to cheat the systems that were in place on Elections Day some three months ago.
His comments come in light of claims being made by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition, which has been alleging that votes were illegitimately recorded; i.e: that persons who are either dead or migrated are listed as having voted on March 2.
But in an exclusive interview with Guyana Times on Thursday, His Excellency Ponz Canto – who is the Head of the European Union Delegation in Guyana – explained that “voting day was very good.”
“It was quite impressive, because when you were in one of those voting stations, you could see the agents from the different parties, you could see the presiding officers, you could see the members of the voting committee tables, and they were all extremely conscientious,” Ponz Canto explained, noting that he has participated in similar processes in other countries, including his homeland Spain.
He observed that in Guyana, when a person comes to vote, “he/she has to identify himself, but then also he has to be seen on the list, and then there are pictures, which in my country we never had pictures; so I was quite positively impressed.
“And at the end of the vote, he had to dip his finger in ink, which in my country we never did. So, it was safeguard after safeguard after safeguard. It was impossible to cheat,” the EU Ambassador stated.
However, he was quick to point out that “this is my judgment…I am not a professional observer”. Nevertheless, he noted that “what is important is that this was the unanimous judgment of all the observation missions, including the EU; and those guys are professionals and they know when things are going right or not.”
In fact, he highlighted that the EU Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) had more than 50 observers all across Guyana on Elections Day, who all reported that “voting” went according to the rules.
So far, he said, the process has adhered to the principles of credibility and transparency, but he lamented that the exercise could have been done at a better speed.
Nevertheless, the EU Ambassador said, once the recount process continues transparently and credibly, the results that would be generated would be accurate.
Emphasising that the
“We said it very clearly: the tabulation process for Region Four was not credible, [it] was not reflecting the will of the people, it was following a process that was not the right process. I saw it personally; I was there in the tabulation centre. [But] it doesn’t really matter that I saw it personally…all our observation missions saw it,” the EU Ambassador explained.
He reasoned that “it is a mistake to underestimate the intelligence of people, and the people of Guyana.”
Ambassador Ponz Canto also noted, “I am tempted to say we all know what happened, but I don’t want to focus on pointing fingers and say who did what and why; it’s not really constructive at this point.”
Accept recount results
What he said is important is the “window of opportunity” in the form of the recount exercise currently underway at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz Canto
purpose of a recount is to “count”, Ambassador Ponz Canto said there are other avenues to address other issues which may arise from the process.
“This exercise is about counting…it’s not rocket science; it’s just counting the votes. Whoever wins wins, whoever loses loses,” the Ambassador expressed, adding that if someone has objections, then there are “legal means to deal with those objections in due course”.
According to the EU Diplomat, he has no doubt that political leaders in Guyana would accept the results of the recount.
“The recount was decided and agreed upon by the top leaders of the Government and the Opposition, and I trust that they will do everything in their hand to make sure that the recount
results are respected,” he said.
“And when I say results, let me be very clear: I mean the counting of the votes, the quantitative counting of the votes, which in my humble understanding is the objective of any recount exercise.”
The EU Ambassador reasoned that, so far, the recount process has proven to be “excellent”, and if at the
Pointing fingers, underestimated intelligence
According to Ambassador Ponz Canto, the major flaw was observed during the tabulation process of the votes for Region Four (DemeraraMahaica), which was being led by Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
end the recount is still excellent, “then the quantitative results are also accurate, and then they have to be recognised.”
Ambassador Ponz Canto said: “We all know that elections day was a good day of voting, and we are all witnessing that the recount is so far a good exercise. Need I say more?”
The EU Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) had announced on March 20 that it would depart Guyana due to a number of concerns, including the threat of COVID-19. The EOM, like many other international observers, was unable to return to Guyana for the recount. However, Ambassador Ponz Canto, along with two expats from the EU Delegation in Guyana, has been observing the recount exercise.
4FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020 Views
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Minimal assistance measures
One day after the Public Health Ministry conducted a single coronavirus (COVID-19) test, and that result came back negative, there has been a record high of 11 new cases in Guyana. This has been the highest number of cases in 24 hours for Guyana since the virus was first detected here in March.
The increase in cases also comes on the same day that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) submitted a four-stage blueprint for the reopening of the country’s airports to the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) for review. With COVID-19 cases increasing daily, there are calls being made for health authorities of the various countries, including Guyana, to accelerate and expand testing in order to obtain a clearer view of where the virus is circulating, and how many people have been infected.
Health experts have underlined increased testing as one of the key actions that could be taken to win the battle against the deadly pandemic. Accelerating and expanding testing is very crucial to better guiding policy-makers, health partners, and health-care workers to contain the spread of the virus.
We have seen, in countries around the world where testing took a long time to take off, how the virus was able to spread rapidly. Guyana’s next door neighbour, Brazil, is one of those countries. Brazil has recorded 1,086 new deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The casualties have now brought the total number of deaths to 25,598. With 20,599 new cases, the number of infected people in Brazil is now 411,821.
Other countries, like Germany and New Zealand, have reported huge success rates, as they were able to test and isolate far more widely than others. They also rapidly stockpiled kits and made the test available to a larger number of labs, which allowed for more persons to be tested and diagnosed early.
Here, in Guyana, with our porous borders and the vulnerability of persons fleeing their countries to seek refuge here, it is imperative that we test continuously. This would enable early diagnosis and establish how far the virus has spread, so that before others are infected, the authorities could isolate and track those persons who may have come into contact with someone who has tested positive.
As this newspaper had previously said, information garnered from testing could also be very useful in helping health-care partners plan to deal with the demand for intensive care units and other critical medical supplies.
While the Public Health Ministry has revealed some communities in which persons were tested positive, it is critical that, every time these positive results are returned, the country is aware which communities these were detected in. This would greatly assist persons in those areas to take better precautions.
As a matter of fact, on Thursday, Guyana’s caretaker President, David Granger, told a high-level United Nations meeting, which aims to advance concrete solutions to the development emergency for the COVID-19 crisis, that the country has been strained to protect its population from the COVID-19 pandemic. This, he said, is as a result of migrants seeking refuge entering Guyana, and the need to divert our revenue to support them; and, as such, this has impacted the state’s ability to protect its people from disease.
Our caretaker President shied away from mentioning that Guyana has its oil money sitting in a United States bank account, and it can be used to assist Guyanese greatly affected by the virus; but this cannot be accessed because of the chaos the ANPU/AFC created following the March 2 General and Regional Elections, in which there was an attempt to rig Guyana’s elections with fraudulent declarations made by Region Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo.
Until the National Elections Recount results are declared by the Guyana Elections Commission, Guyanese are at the mercy of a Government that has implemented very minimal assistance measures. We reiterate that Guyanese would continue to face even more severe hardships, as the Government seems to be deaf to the pleas of citizens for assistance. Limited testing would only compound the situation; the need for more testing cannot be over-emphasised.
The Amazing Senja by Wenchang Chen, one of the entries in the 10th EPSON International Pano Awards (The Atlantic)
Dear Editor,
The Coalition have tried every possible trick in their Rigging Book, and have attempted new ones as well.
They tried their utmost to nullify the successful No Confidence Motion; they had problems with the Official List of Electors, which Granger claimed was bloated and which could have been revived using the claims and objections period; they attempted to stall the impending elections by foisting on the nation the House-toHouse Registration which the court later aborted; they fiddled with the claims and objections period; they reduced polling places in PPP strongholds to disenfranchise voters; they messed up the voters’ list with their ‘merging’, and the list appears to be endless; They openly flouted the Constitution and rulings of the court under the pretext that they respected these.
One would have thought that the above scenario would change after the Elections on March 2nd, but in fact it got far worse. After more court action to get the recount off the ground, resulting from Mingo’s wilful and fraudulent manipulation of the Region 4 Statements of Poll, the Coalition is now hell bent on a course of action to abort the entire 2020 Elections, which they now claim lacked credibility.
This is in direct contrast with what Granger and his cabal had claimed after March 2nd.
What is amazing is that, now that the recount has unearthed the massive fraud perpetrated by Mingo on behalf of the Coalition, they are now claiming that the dead voted, those migrated before the date of the election voted, etc. It must be recalled that Mingo submitted two declarations, and Granger was supposed to be sworn in on a few occasions. Now we can expect Basil Williams to be preparing for another frivolous court action.
However, Harmon’s comical and farcical statement beats all. Harmon’s claim that more than 86,000 voters who voted in the 2020 Elections “lacked credibility” is by itself an incredulous statement which lacks credibility. The so-called evidences he put forward make him a mocking stock, and have now propelled him into the category of his associate, Basil Williams.
Williams had earlier claimed that the current recount is illegal, despite being agreed to by his Party and the courts. It must be recalled that the Coalition had claimed, based on Mingo’s fraudulent declaration, that they had won the elections by a slim margin; therefore, if Harmon’s conclusion is correct, then the Coalition should have lost the Elections by more than 86,000 votes.
Therefore, it would seem that the ‘rigger’ rigged on behalf of the Coalition.
However, in a feeble attempt to support the Coalition’s nonsensical claims of ‘electoral fraud’, one columnist claimed that there is a flip-side to the Carter Center statement that, “Even if pre-election and election day processes go well, a flawed vote count or vote tabulation can fatally undermine the integrity and credibility of the electoral process and decrease public confidence and public acceptance of the results”.
That flip side can read, “Even if election day processes and the vote count or tabulation go well, a flawed pre-election process can fatally undermine the integrity and credibility of the electoral process and decrease public confidence and public acceptance of the results”.
The columnist should recall that the Coalition accepted the results of the 2018 Local Government Elections, and the Official List of Electors which was used then had a life until April 2019. The List had no problem then, but the Coalition used the excuse of a “list bloated by about 200,000 names” to delay the impending elections in order to remain illegally in office. They used GECOM’s illegal Chairman and the Chief Elections Officer to foist the House-to-House Registration on this nation when the List could have been revised by an extended claims and objections’ period.
However, even though the H2H was finally aborted, it had already captured in excess of 370,000 names, and it was finally revealed that 37,300 were “new registrants”. Of these, 17,000 were already on the voters list, and some had even voted in the past. The entire venture was an effort to buy time and produce a lot of duplications.
It must be recalled that the Coalition Commissioners of GECOM were against field verification of 20,556 names, since they knew that the list was “not bloated”, as was claimed. Commissioner Alexander was also adamant that “duplications cannot result in fraud”.
Then there was the claims and objections’ period, which saw the Coalition attempting to disenfranchise many legitimate voters in PPP support base, but which was finally resolved.
It must be recalled that, at every turn, it was the PPP/C which called for measures to ensure the List was credible and free of errors. It must also be recalled that PPP/C scrutineers were not part of the H2H registration process, only those of the APNU/AFC accompanied the GECOM staff. So how could the PPP/C rig the List?
The columnist should be aware that “an objective effort” was indeed “made to fix the problem before elections”; and furthermore, there is no evidence to support the “possibility of fraudulent use of the bloated list”, if indeed the list was bloated.
On the contrary, there is ample evidence to support the fact that the claims made by the Coalition: that the “dead” and “migrants” voted, are complete fabrications meant to annul the Elections.
There are no “irregularities” which are material enough to annul the Elections, and that is the reason why the Carter Center is not wanted by the Coalition to observe the Recount process. The Coalition, with the assistance of GECOM, feel that they could force an annulment, which may be supported by the CARICOM observers.
Moreover, the List was kosher to the Coalition up to when Mingo made his fraudulent declaration. I am wondering why the columnist failed to bring this evidence in his analysis, if indeed he is being objective. In addition, why has he not called on GECOM to cast the fraudulent declarations aside, rather than holding them “in abeyance”.
In addition, it would be a miraculous act for the PPP/C to rig the List when GECOM is controlled by the Coalition.
Did Lowenfield, Myers and Claudette Singh allow this to happen? It is a fact also that many who are employed by GECOM are supporters of the Coalition.
Indeed, the Carter Center cannot prevent elections from being “manipulated”, but it can report that the Recount process was credible and that the “claims and objections” now raised by the Coalition are frivolous and immaterial to the outcome. It must be recalled that the Center did report that Mingo’s declarations were illegal, since they did not follow the legally prescribed tabulation process.
In conclusion, no amount of whitewashing will erase the fact that the Coalition tried many blatant and shameful acts, not only to illegally hold on to power, but to barefacedly rig the 2020 Elections.
Yours sincerely, Haseef Yusuf
Shameless coalition
You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com
Dear Editor,
There is currently a devas tating plague of locusts, which started in the Middle East and is moving across Eastern Africa and parts of Asia. For exam ple: to date Kenya, India and Pakistan have been impacted, and crops have been wiped out.
Many are expecting the im pact of the plague to last several years, due to the heavy egg-laying of the locusts. The plague also covers thousands of kilometres and, in some in stances, has resulted in losses greater than two billion pounds for this season’s crops.
The resulting and forecast ed food shortage will have a tremendous impact on the food supply and health of those in the affected areas. Many are worried about the prospect of extensive starvation, given the extent of the negative impact of the locust plague on their coun try’s agriculture sector, and the resulting increases in food pric es.
However, these unfortunate international circumstances also present opportunities for our rice farmers and our agri culture sector to be able to help our global brothers and sisters during these difficult times: By working closely with the United Nations and the affected coun try representatives in Guyana, a number of long-term supply contracts can be established.
The current developing in ternational food supply shortage will also provide opportunities to quickly expand and grow our agriculture sector, and Guyana will be able to play its part as a responsible glob al citizen with our allies, while also reducing the level of un employment and poverty within our nation. This presents a great opportunity for our laid off cane-cutters to re-enter the workforce.
Some may question why the need to send goods that far away, when our neighbours in Venezuela are facing simi lar food issues due to different underlying reasons. Hopefully, the time will eventually come when we can aid Venezuela, but we must first ensure that our border dispute is amicably resolved, and no international embargo is violated. Once this occurs, an UN-approved sup ply agreement could be established.
In regard to the discussion concerning Asia and Africa, a large portion of our citizens have their origins in those parts of the world. The situ ation in which Indians and Africans find themselves is not one of choice; as in the case with Venezuela, which can comply with the UN’s demands and change its current econom ic situation.
On the other hand, helping our extended family in those re gions of our origin during these difficult times should be a top priority for us, given their in ability to quickly change the developing food supply shortage and our strong historical & cul tural connection. Any little we can do helps in this dire situa tion, and when one helps one’s extended family, it is as though one is also helping oneself.
Best regards, Jamil Changlee Chairman The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana The locust plague and Guyana Dear Editor,
We respond to an inquiry as re gards our position on the Carter Center’s exclusion from the Recount Process.
We had to take some time to re spond, since the answer should be almost self-evident. We had to take the opportunity to examine the nature of these requests from the press, and at least the expectation from others for TIGI to comment on issues.
While it is reassuring to know that our opinions are sought, our mission also includes advocacy for change in laws, policies, and procedures that would eliminate corruption, regardless of which party forms the Government and practises it.
We had to ask ourselves why the press is eager to report what we say, and others what we do not say when we are silent; but take no action to follow up on exposures we make that have national implications.
During 2019, TIGI made sever al exposures on the oil contract that should have made the press push for comments from others – like the Bar Association. We are not aware that this has occurred. TIGI brought to the awareness of the nation certain issues about the contract that did not require a lawyer to understand. The press should have pressed for answers from other organisations. For example, the clear implication that was made was that the Procurement Commission did not know its job insofar as its officials claimed that the Procurement Act did not include petroleum exploration ser vices in its scope, making Guyana the first country in the world to exclude petroleum, the mother of all corrup tion, from its scope.
Since those articles were pub lished, coincidentally perhaps, SARA has claimed that two contracts signed since 2016 were in breach of the Act. Clearly, the Procurement Commission (PC) should be made to explain the consistency between the two. Either the Procurement Act includes petro leum services in its scope, or it does not. And the Bar Association should have been asked for comment.
The question as to whether the Carter Center should have been al lowed to witness the Recount Process relates to a bigger problem – con stitutional breaches. We refer you to a report in KN of March 13, 2019 whose title says it all: “Our politicians only want to obey the law and the Constitution when it suits them” (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline. com/2019/03/13/our-politicians-onlywant-to-obey-the-law-and-the-consti tution-when-it-suits-them-sanjeevdatadin/) Ditto for the Carter Centre. They only want the Carter Centre to visit, and in general, want the atten tion of foreigners in our affairs when it suits them.
As TIGI grappled with a position on the electoral developments since December 2018, we were astonished by what we found. We asked the sim ple question as to why our partner Caricom countries did not have such problems with no-confidence motions. The answer was simple. Their consti tutions vested another functionary other than the head of Government and head of the party in power with the au thority to put the head of Government out of office. The constitutions of our partners do not carry provisions that require the head of Government to fire himself as it were.
Clearly, whoever were the poli ticians and legal minds who put the revised draft of the Constitution to gether, they wanted the kind of arrangement that was going to await the day when the failure to separate the roles would explode in our faces as it has now.
Will you ask the great constitution al minds, such as are still alive, why they allowed this?
Guyana’s Constitution (Article 38A) requires that such actors of civ il society that have mobilised be supported by Government. Article 32 puts a duty upon every citizen to combat vi olations of the law and protect public property. Surely, the Bar Association should be expected to take the lead in such a duty when there is a claim of breach of responsibility by state ac tors that have obvious national consequences.
If you are the press, you should press them for answers to the ques tions we have raised, rather than continually ask us to make comments which might fill pages for a time and then fade away.
Electoral impasses have been with us for decades. In fact, that is what brought the Carter Center here in the first place. Why you would feel that we would have any answer other than they should be allowed to extend their vigilance to this round of observation if they require it is a puzzle.
We end by pointing out that the failure of the Guyanese society to even appear to be following its own rules which it has set for itself trivialises our society before foreigners. If we cannot follow our own laws, how do we ex pect foreigners to be inclined to follow them?
But worse, TIGI has shown where successive Governments of Guyana have bent and broken our laws and Constitution to accommodate foreign multinationals. We see constitutional compliance as a continuum – a neces sary habit; not a failure to be attended to only as it applies to electoral issues.
TIGI
Response to enquiry from the press on the exclusion of the Carter Center
Recount process
Dear Editor,
GECOM’s additions to the lawful processes stipulated for a recount, as outlined in the Representation of the People’s Act, are going to impact future elections severely.
Had there been counting of ballots in a transparent manner and a credible system of verification and tabulation, not only would this election have been over, but some confidence in future elections would have been preserved.
As it is, Mr. Mingo’s fraud has been proven beyond reasonable doubt, but damage to the system of checks and balances utilised by GECOM is almost beyond salvage.
Let me explain: Each polling station has its Official List of Electors (OLE) who are eligible to vote. Copies are given to all GECOM polling day staff and any party’s agents present. There is no legal requirement to tick names, it is an accounting aid. Some Presiding Officers do periodic audits with all present to keep track of numbers, and some do not. In future elections, a PO may tick all the names or none, would this be enough evidence to invalidate the ballots in the box? What happens in the future when boxes are opened for a recount and there are no OLEs in the box? What happens when Ram N Balram is ticked instead of Ram M Balram (migrated or deceased)? This is the nonsense we have allowed to creep in and contaminate the process. Mischief-makers can choose from a wide menu of actions to sabotage and even vitiate an election with impunity.
In writing of best practices for a lawful election before March 2nd, I glossed over polling day activities by saying: “We will assume the following: ? Police protection is afforded each polling station all day (This is mandatory). ? Counting in the polling station is over. ? The statement of poll has been filled out by the GECOM presiding officer and has been signed by all polling agents present.”
I did so with the utmost confidence in the GECOM polling day procedures and staff. I stand by these assumptions, and can point to statements of support from every contesting party and observer mission, who all declared the polling day activity as credible and without fraud. The only fraud that occurred in Guyana’s General and Regional Elections in 2020 is Mr. Mingo’s use of fictitious figures, and his subsequent declaration of District 4 results based on those numbers.
Given the more outlandish claims of fraud emanating from APNU/AFC sources during the ongoing recount, the only system that would satisfy those ‘forces’ would be live-streamed HD video of all polling stations, coupled with biometric scanners as used by international immigration agencies, and a Certificate of Life issued on the spot by a medical professional before the elector can proceed into the polling station. Anything less would certainly be open to question. Heaven forbid a
single Certificate of Life goes missing at any station, for that would mean fresh elections for sure. This absurdity is matched only by its impracticality.
Editor, the more excursions GECOM takes off of the lawful path prescribed for a recount, the further we will move from the position of trust and faith in the existing GECOM polling day systems. It may be useful for GECOM to remember the words of Chief Justice Desiree Bernard, who said, “The role of the Elections Commission and its staff is to take such action as appears necessary to ensure impartiality, fairness, and compliance with the provisions of the Constitution and any other acts of Parliament… Confidence in the electoral process must be restored.
“This is absolutely essential if we, as a nation, are to move forward and strive to heal the wounds that divide us. Let fairness pervade all of our actions at all times; no effort must be spared to assure everyone that the process is fair and impartial. Lingering doubts that hang like a Sword of Damocles over the head of the Commission must be removed.”
The allowance of the incorporation of audit-like activities in the ongoing recount is a perfect example of the said sword; it should be left in its sheath for everyone’s sake. There are reasons for laws governing recounts.
Dear Editor,
This letter is addressed in part to Mr David Granger.
Mr David Granger: just because the writing is on the wall that your APNU+AFC caretaker Government lost the March 02, 2020 General Election, it doesn’t necessar ily mean that you don’t keep on fighting for your ideals, and keep moving forward and making progress.
But it is embarrassing, disrespectful and distaste ful when the APNU+AFC continue raising concerns of deceased and migrated per sons voting in the March 2 General and Regional Elections. It is APNU+AFC member Aubrey Norton who said, “We did not find any occurrence of this in the Coalition strongholds.”
This says much for the leadership of the APNU+AFC Adviser to the caretaker President to make a statement like this to the world and the people of Guyana: “When you call the names of the dead, they didn’t vote in APNU+AFC strongholds, neither those who migrated. But when we did the same in PPP strong holds, the answer was, ‘Yes, it’s crossed off’, and so we concluded (that) in PPP strongholds they were al lowed to vote, and there is no evidence that that happened in the APNU+AFC strong holds.”
Guyanese, this statement is preposterous; contrary to any reason; absurd and ri diculous. These are learned men that Guyanese entrust ed our country to be governed by over the last five years. What is this saying to the young people of Guyana?
I, for one, know that the dead and the migrat ed refused to vote for the APNU+AFC because of their stupidity.
All these allegations must be considered as trash talk; unfounded; without any basis, notwithstanding the garbage that is coming out of the mouths of these gentlemen day after day.
These are the irrespon sible actions taken by the APNU+AFC leaders whom we thought were smart, in telligent men before 2015. They are all making them selves a side-show for the Guyanese citizens and the international communities.
This caretaker Administration is being looked upon as a circus of clowns. There are many Guyanese people around the country and the world who are very disappointed with the blatant assault on the Guyanese people.
It is as clear as day that the APNU+AFC lost the 2020 General and Regional Elections, and their sup porters are now considering them failures.
As such, they are cre ating political distractions in every form, and are try ing to blame the People’s Progressive Party/Civic for their loss.
The concocted ‘Nancy sto ry’ that the PPP rigged these elections is enough evidence that the David Granger-led caretaker Government has become clueless and blind to what is truly unfolding in front of their eyes.
Your attack on the oppo sition parties will not save you from your own igno rance. The people of Guyana are already of the opinion that the APNU/AFC is un fit to lead this country “now or ever”. They all know that David Granger and his ca bal are not to be trusted, and they have deceived mostly their supporters and the peo ple of Guyana.
The media houses were truthful in reporting and explaining to the Guyanese people what had occurred in Guyana from May 2015 to May 2020. All the skull duggery and the blatant depravities that the APNU/ AFC cabal have introduced in the electoral process, even Forbes Burnham, the Master Rigger of Guyana, could not have pulled off.
This APNU/AFC leader ship has displayed the true sense of misery that comes from losing an election which has a wider impact. It is clear to the world and the citizens of Guyana that the APNU/ AFC leadership is now ques tioning the legitimacy of the election process itself, an act that has undermine their trust in basic institutions of democracy.
The APNU/AFC lead ers have stopped trusting our political institutions and have begun looking for alter native forums to make themselves heard.
Mr David Granger: the people of Guyana advise you to take the loss, understand it, and get okay with it. We are too tired of your party’s ramblings.
Sincerely, David Adams
6FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020 Page Foundation
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION NATIONAL GRADE SIX ASSESSMENT SOCIAL STUDIES
Guyana Times is pleased to publish the Education Ministry’s National Grade Six Assessment Past Papers. Below is Social Studies Paper 2, April 2016.
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
1. Write your candidate number clearly on each page.
Write on the lines provided in this booklet. Use a pencil and write neatly and legibly.
3. . sections.
This paper contains two
Section A contains one question. You must answer this question.
Note: You must answer only four questions. Be sure to answer all parts of the four questions fully.
4. If you have to erase an answer, do so completely and write your new answer clearly.
5. If you complete your work before the scheduled time, spend the remaining time looking over your work.
6. Do not take away any part of this booklet.
SECTION A
This section contains ONE question with three parts.
You MUST answer ALL the parts of the question.
1. The illustration below shows a person being attended to by two workers. Study it carefully, then answer Parts (a) to (c).
Total 5 marks
SECTION B
This section contains FIVE questions.
You MUST answer THREE of these questions.
2. A map of the Caribbean is shown below. Study it carefully, then answer Parts (a) to (d). Central America.
(d) State one way in which CARICOM countries help each other.
(1 mark)
3. The picture below shows an Amerindian community. Study it carefully, then answer Parts (a) to (d).
(a) Give one example of an institution where this scene is likely to take place.
(2 marks)
(b) Describe two ways in which the person being helped can maintain good health.
(2 marks) (a) (i) Name any one country that started the CARICOM family.
(c) If the person being attended to in the illustration is an alcoholic, give two pieces of advice which could help him to stay away from alcohol use after he leaves the institution.
(1 mark)
(ii) Name the body of water that is labelled (P).
(1mark)
Total 5 marks
(b) Identify one product exported by the country labelled (B).
(1 mark)
(c) Shade the CARICOM member state that is located in
(a) State one activity carried out in the building shown in the picture.
(b) Imagine the people in the picture live at Paramakatoi, name one economic activity in which they would be involved.
(c) State one contribution the Amerindians made to the development of Guyana.
(d) If you were the Minister of Communities, state two actions that you would take to improve the lives of people living in hinterland communities.
Total 5 marks
4.
The illustration below shows a policewoman on duty. Study it carefully, then answer Parts (a) to (c).
(a) State one duty of the policewoman other than the one seen in the picture. (1 mark) (b) Give two reasons why laws are important in our country. (2 marks)
7FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM NEWS C ommissioners of the Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n (GECOM) on Thursday met again to discuss the timeline for the completion of the National Recount Exercise, and new battle lines have been drawn up, namely the time within which to declare the final results of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The Commission is expected to resume meeting today (Friday), at which time discussions would continue over a likely June 13 completion of the exercise.
Stakeholders are deeply divided over the time that should be allowed for the electoral body’s deliberation on the recount results before delivering a formal election declaration.
The Opposition Peoples’ Progressive Party/Civic, through its tabulation agent Anil Nandlall, gave the overview at the end of Day 23 of the Recount Exercise, scheduled according to the Gazetted Order for completion on Saturday.
Sufficient time
With more than 900 of the 2,339 ballot boxes from across the country still to be recounted, Nandlall told media operatives on Tuesday that it is the PPP/C’s expectation that a one-week extension to the deadline would be adequate to complete the exercise.
According to the PPP/C tabulation agent, the party expected that, within another week, Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield would have tabulated and compiled his report in order for the Commission to make a formal declaration. This, he said, the PPP/C believes to be sufficient time to wrap up the 2020 electoral cycle and to have a winner declared; but, “lo and behold, we are now faced with a situation where the Commission wants the recount and Lowenfield’s report to be concluded in 16 days, and the Commission doesn’t want to put a stipulated time for the declaration of the results by the Commission.”
Nandlall has since surmised, “They want to leave the time open-ended for them to deliberate on Lowenfield’s report.” The PPP/C agent said this is unacceptable, “because everything that we have done here would be rendered nugatory if we don’t get the declaration in time.”
Underpinning the declaration of a winner as the most important aspect of the recount exercise, the former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs pointed to the Commission’s initial gazetted timeline of 25 days for completion of the process.
According to Nandlall, “Now we are at that stage of negotiating an extension of time, and the Government commissioners are arguing to leave the time open-ended for the declaration of the final results to be made.”
This he dismissed as an unacceptable directive emanating from Congress Place, “because it is something they want to try in that interregnum.”
Three months
According to Nandlall, it is close to three months since the March 2 polls, and the country is no closer to a timeline for a definitive declaration of the results, and the prevailing circumstances could very well lead to a violation of the laws of Guyana.
He elucidated the position by pointing to the provisions that cater for a recount, and said there is a tabulation and subsequent declaration of the results of the recount. “There is no break in time, or no inordinate break in time; it’s a fluid process.”
This he summarised as, “You recount, you tabulate, and you declare the results; it’s one process”.
The former Minister of Legal Affairs used the occasion to reiterate that GECOM cannot investigate the allegations that are being raised by the incumbent and being documented in Observation Reports.
Government-nominated Commissioner Vincent Alexander told media operatives that the observations must be deliberated on, and that would take time. He also suggested that GECOM Chairperson, retired Justice Claudette Singh, has signalled an intention to write the relevant authorities with a view to requesting corroborating documentation. This position is, however, vehemently opposed by the political opposition.
Articulating the PPP/ C’s position on Thursday, Nandlall was adamant that the tabulated results must be used automatically. He told reporters, “I don’t know what they want to deliberate on.”
He was adamant that any attempt to morph the recount process into something beyond a numerical ascertaining of the ballots cast on March 2, would be stanchly opposed.
Nandlall told reporters that, as it is, there is no definitive timeline for a declaration of the results emanating from the recount process, and “we want them to tell us how much time…it cannot be for the rest of the year; they are not fixing a time. This country is on hold, people’s lives are on hold from this process.”
Duty to disclose
He was adamant that “any responsible commission has a duty to disclose to the population the timeframe, and it can’t be an unreasonable timeframe. Ordinarily, elections’ results are disclosed in two days.”
As it relates to the observation reports, Nandlall, denoted these to be summary of the objections being made primarily by the coalition A partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), and he said, “The position is that GECOM can’t do anything with it. GECOM cannot do anything with it in law.”
The former Attorney General was adamant that the Commission doesn’t have that mandate, or power, or structure to pursue the claims being made by the APNU+AFC agents, such as dead of migrated voters having voted. The observation report, he said, is being exploited, but the PPP/C was not too concerned, since GECOM could not pursue the claims legally.
“These are allegations that cannot be established because GECOM has no capacity to entertain or to allow their establishment or proof,” he declared.
Adamant that an election can be annulled only by the court, Nandlall reminded that GECOM is the institution holding the elections, and as such could not presume to be judge and jury in an inquest into itself.
Not permitted
“You have a problem how GECOM acted, you have to go to the court and they annul it. There is no position in the law at all for GECOM to deal with disputes,” Nandlall offered.
Asked to pronounce on his party’s course of action should the Commission go head and begin investigating the observations made, such as dead and migrated voters having voted, Nandlall told media operatives, “It will not be permitted; the court would stop it.”
He explained: “If at any time the Commission acts outside of its legal powers, the court will be there to correct it.”
Adamant that the PPP has nothing to hide, Nandlall told reporters that the PPP would not participate in an illegal exercise, and “if GECOM goes down a road that GECOM has no powers to travel, and wants to perform functions that GECOM has no right and power to perform, then the PPP will not participate in that process.”
Shying away from speculation, Nandlall told reporters the law does not permit GECOM to entertain those considerations. Commissioners still undecided over declaration date
