The release of the Commission of Inquiry Report into the Guyana 2000 elections this week is eyebrow- and uncannily hair-raising to say the least – what with fingers pointing to the involvement of key senior officials in what is supposed to be an independent machinery, compromised police and law enforcement, media and other key pillars in a democratic system.
Those like myself who have had our optimism and efforts for advancing regional democracy and democratic systems dimunitised into forced cynicism, hold our breaths on action that may arise from the report of the Commission of Inquiry, not just for Guyana but for the region, given the history of such Inquiries in the region.
Still, given Guyana’s emerging and evolving status as a new regional leader where the primary region organ, CARICOM has its headquarters, Demokrissy holds out hope that the report’s findings would stir to action democratic institutions not only in Guyana but across the region and in the international community to not just clamour for but to actively move for change.
Training Women Leaders
I recall within the context of advancing the engagement and training women of the region over the last two decades as part of our ‘Put A Woman’ campaign on the slogan ‘A Woman’s Place is in the House … of Parliament, our session with potential women leaders in Guyana had some telling insights. I will delve more into that in coming weeks, but what particularly surfaced was the resignation at the culture of fear, intimidation and violence that hug over elections and the election processes.
I have consistently held that to achieve the kind of advancement and transformation that is required we must be prepared to delve into substantial cultural change.
Political culture of fear, intimidation, hoodlumism
That political change and socio-cultural and economic transformation must be accompanied by a new wave for cultural change has been the raison d’ etre of my pioneering award-winning developmental policy blog Demokrissy. Devoted to the purpose of interrogating and analysing the interlinked and systemised of components of democracy that define the fabric of post colonial societies and influence the range of underlying social ills of criminality, violence and extremism, hoodlumism, corruption, lack of transparency and accountability that further entrench social and economic underdevelopment.
Guyana’s Economic Windfall
With its new economic windfall that is attracting the mercantile fleets as flies to a candle, Guyana will soon discover that unless it can effect such tectonic culture shift at ground level, its new-found wealth could very well become just a prop to deepen the entrenched negative political value systems.
The Commission of Enquiry Findings
The Commission found clear links between senior staff of the official election machinery, Gecom, with identified bias and ties with officials of a political party and blatant ‘rigging’. This may well identify a inherent political DNA and culture to deny the democratic rights of people to their government of choice
Such a DNA tracing could takes us back into policies of regression to the roots of self governance through the decades to today.
Regional interests
What we in the region would like to examine closely, that was not in the remit of the Commission of Inquiry is also those in the region who were also willing to shroud the democratic processes, while at the same time commend those regional leaders to stood for democracy in a sister State.
In its deliberations, of some 39 witnesses summoned or approached by the commission to provide testimony, some 26 witnesses testified while 13 either failed to appear, declined or invoked their right not to incriminate themselves or otherwise declined to provide any evidence to the commission.
Evidence took the form of witness statements, some of which included documentary, photographic and video exhibits and through oral testimony to the commission.
The Commission was appointed by the President of Guyana, HE Mohamed Irfaan Ali, acting under section 2 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act of Guyana.
It was mandated to, among other things, inquire into and report on attempts, and by whom, to undermine and frustrate the legally prescribed process for the counting, ascertaining and tabulation of votes in the General and Regional Elections of 2nd March, 2020 and on attempts to prevent a true declaration of the results of that election.
Core Findings of the Commission
The inquiry concluded ‘shockingly brazen attempts’ by senior electoral officials ‘to derail and corrupt the statutorily prescribed procedure for the counting, ascertaining and tabulation of votes of the March 2nd (2000) election, as well as the true declaration of the results of that election, and that they did so – to put it in unvarnished language of the ordinary man – for the purpose of stealing the election.
We hope that the recommendations made will serve to address, if indeed steps to that end have not already been taken, aspects of the functions of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the senior officers attached thereto.
It reportedly addressed the role played by certain ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and itsthe Tactical Service Unit (TSU). I
The Commission expressed that hope that the report ‘will help to bring closure to a sad and shameful chapter in the electoral history of Guyana in which the integrity of and trust in the electoral system of Guyana was undermined and temporarily overthrown by the shenanigans of election officials at the highest level of the system.
Stay tuned – More analyses on this to come…
About Dr Kris Rampersad
Sustainable Development Strategist-Facilitator Media/ Gender/Culture/SIDS
Dr Kris Rampersad is an award-winning journalist and international development consultant, thought leader, researcher and content creator across the spheres of conventional and new digital media, gender mainstreaming, education, culture, heritage and inclusion and SIDS.
She holds PhD in Humanities – Literatures in English (with sociology, economics and politics); encompassing developmental studies of post-colonial societies with a diploma in Mass Communications from the Jawaharlal University/Indian Institute of Mass Communications.
She is a Fellow of Foreign Press Centre of Japan, University of Cambridge and a Commonwealth Professional Fellow who laid the foundation for Commonwealth civil society transition from conventional to New Media aligned to Commonwealth developmental issues.
The first sitting journalist/editor in the Caribbean to complete a PhD, she is a UNESCO Cultural heritage expert educator and National Geographic Educator, Google Digital Skills Ambassador, Woman Techmakers’ Ambassador, Small Island Innovators’ Ambassador, World Pulse (Gender Network) Ambassador.
She straddles the spheres of academia and journalism and communications, outreach and advocacy to engender the multifarious socio-economic and political developmental challenges of post colonial societies, SIDS, the Global South and Developing World and bridging developmental gaps for equity and equality of participation and access. She is closely involved in solution-driven research, analyses and communications for gender mainstreaming, equality and equity. She has a highly successful track record in strategizing, policy development, planning, implementation, content creation, editing, adapting, developing targeted core and critical outreach communications outreach and public education campaigns from conceptualisation to communication and connection and crafting messages from diverse lay, popular and technical data for the range of recipient communities from preschool to policymakers via conventional through new communication platforms.
She has long experience in multilateral relations and served as President of the UNESCO Education Commission, an Independent Member of the UNESCO InterGovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage. She was the first UNESCO ICH educator/facilitator for the English speaking Caribbean and was actively involved in training and local to international stakeholder engagement processes that significantly augmented the Caribbean presence on UNESCO Lists – Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda- World Heritage, Reggae – Intangible Cultural Registry, Port of Spain, Nassau, Kingston – UNESCO Creative Cities
Among other accolades, she holds the Trinidad and Tobago National Medal Gold for contributions to the development of women and journalism and is recognised as a pioneer in development policy blogging for new media by the UNESCO/BBC & Partners’ Communication’s Initiative.
She has functioned as a non-profit advocate/educator, communications specialist, researcher, educator and independent scholar across the UN, Inter-American, EU-ACP, Commonwealth and other geo-political configurations with extensive experience in analysing, communicating and connecting global to local realities. She has close knowledge of global systems, mechanisms, instruments and developmental challenges in futuring the post pandemic planet.
She is the author of groundbreaking studies as Finding a Place, her dissertation which tracks the migration, settlement, adaptation and processes of society-formation (now being redeveloped for multimedia).
She is also the author of the highly acclaimed LiTTscapes – Landscapes of Fiction, a springboard for advancing literacy and blue print for the development of Caribbean Literary & Heritage Tourism, Through the Political Glass Ceiling that captures the ascension to office of the First Woman Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and I the Sky & Me the Sea – The Adventures of Munnie Butterfly and Danny Dragonfly, the first of a Caribbean EcoCultural Adventure Fable Series.