Georgetown, Guyana.
June 22, 2022
For immediate release to all media houses.
AFC Press Statement on Commission of Inquiry
The AFC, having earlier criticised GECOM for abdicating its responsibility to conduct an internal review of its performance as the apex electoral institution concerning the 2020 Elections, notes that President Irfaan Ally has artfully filled the breach by naming members of a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into the events of the said Elections.
The AFC would like to reiterate that the call for an internal institutional review was directed to identify flaws and weaknesses in the system, operations, and human resources of GECOM. Every institution of such high constitutional rank, and to which huge sums of public monies are allocated must have, at minimum, an attempt at this self-introspection. System reviews are a natural course for bodies and organisations like these, if only for the purpose of lessons to be learnt. To shy away from this self-examination was most irresponsible; and, an unnecessary damage to the credibility of an almost shattered GECOM.
As regards the Commission of Inquiry now to be established, the AFC notes that it has started off on the wrong footing. There ought to have been an attempt at consultation with the Opposition on the entirety of this matter, inclusive of the constitution of its members, the terms of reference, and the timeline in conducting its work. This consultative, inclusive approach would certainly have engendered a modicum of acceptability and legitimacy of whatever final report it will produce, plus a participation in the Commission’s work by a greater number of Guyanese. As it stands, there is every expectation that, like the IRI Poll found, more than 68% of Guyanese may find its outcome unacceptable. Moreover, it may very well be that the entire exercise will be seen as a PPP political stunt for its own propaganda purposes and to distract from the trashing it is getting from its base support all across the country.
Notwithstanding these deficits, and it being a fait accompli, the AFC is hoping that the Commission do come up with a profound set of recommendations which will ensure that GECOM produces free, fair, and credible elections in future, and that its internal operations, system and human resources be examined thoroughly to identify flaws and weaknesses which it did not want to confront in that internal review. This might assist GECOM in restoring its credibility, something the AFC wants to see happen as early as possible.
In the meantime, the AFC urges that there be an early determination of the Election Petitions presently in the Court system. Though the Commission of Inquiry may have points of duplication of process with the Petitions, it certainly must not be used by the Government nor the PPP to delay nor displace these Petitions in any way
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