Georgetown, Guyana.
October 28, 2022
For immediate release to all media houses.
PRESS STATEMENTS FROM TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE
A recording of the presser is on our Facebook page now. https://www.facebook.com/afcguyana/videos/788701945567656
The recent Consultation process and electoral reform – Khemraj Ramjattan
The AFC maintains that it stands committed to electoral reform both at the Constitutional and Statutory levels. It was for this reason it decided to attend the proposed consultation exercise on the 25th October 2022. However, its participation had to be aborted when it became evident that the PPP, via its Minister of Governance and its Attorney General, made a farce of that consultation process.
To begin with there was a half hour delayed start to accommodate the entry of a number of the PPP’s loyalist organisations and personally to make a crowd. Secondly, the monologues both Gail Texeira and Anil Nandlall then took approximately 2 hours. This was a complete monopolisation of a proposed 3 hour process. This domination was obviously too irksome and vexatious not only for the AFC and its APNU Parliamentarians who attended, but for the representative of ANUG, Mr Timothy Jonas and Mr Yog Mahadeo, prominent social activist, who walked out.
The AFC wants to reiterate that an electoral reform process must realise amendments to the law which must find consensus to the whole country and not half of it, to the extent that elections are held with a higher level of acceptance and a lower level of criticism.
At the Constitutional level, the AFC will be pressing for a GECOM that is comprised of an additional three civil society members to dilute the highly partisan politicised membership as presently exists. And as previously stated, this will also help eliminate the judicial determinations forced upon the Chairperson in the existing arrangements. Secondly, there is need for term limits for the Commissioners and not a security of tenure for life. Thirdly, because of the confusion prevailing, there is need for an explicit statement as to a residency requirement of each and every voter. Fourthly, and arising out of the CCJ recent decion on the matter of the appeal ability or non appeal ability of an election petition which is struck out for late or improper service to one of the Respondents, there is every need for this unsavoury constitutional landscape to be remedied by an amendment to article 163 of our Constitution.
At the Statutory level, the AFC will be pressing for amendments for early voting for polling day staff in similar manner as the Disciplined Forces; for use of available technology, namely, biometrics at the registration stage and electronic voting; and for house to house registration periodically, preferably 8 years.
These calls are very much consistent with demands made by the PPP in 2015 when it lost the Elections and became the Opposition.
Ali must drain his swamp – Catherine Hughes
It has been said, you know a country based on how it treats its women, children and the elderly. Guyana today shows us how far down the drain we have moved as a people when it comes to how we treat our women.
We talk ad nauseum about the high incident of domestic violence plaguing our country but fail to recognize that it’s biggest culprits occupy the highest positions with the governing People’s Progressive Party. The current Charrandas debacle is testimony to this.
We note the haste with which some persons have tried to whitewash the incident by eagerly welcoming a statement on the issue by President Ali that Persaud has agreed with him that he should return home. That could be Guyana or Canada.
This however appears to be a slap on the wrist and not an executive order for the recall of Persaud to face an investigation, nor an indication that his conduct has rendered him unsuitable to hold public office. Claiming that the recording was doctored, Persaud told the President that there was no evidence of any misconduct on his part. That denial runs in the face of the video recording showing Persaud hurling profane sexual and vulgar abuse at the renowned Indian professor and animal rights activist in Delhi, India during August, 2021. By the minimum standard of any decent man the behaviour is unacceptable.
We find it strange that the President has been kept in the dark for well over a year about an ugly scandal involving a diplomatic envoy who has been appointed under his own hand. It is unacceptable that the Minister of Foreign Affairs did not find the incident serious enough to be brought to the attention of the President or Cabinet. Instead, in clear dereliction of duty, the Minister ruled that the matter is closed.
We insist that this outrageous attack by a Guyana top diplomat against a woman requires further investigation and an apology to the woman concerned.
In Guyana there are widely circulated reports in the press of several incidents in the past. We had the incident where it is alleged that Bheri Ramsarran a government minister at
the time, threatened to slap a rights activist. There was the allegation in 2007 of then Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall had gun whipped a citizen.
We had the Vice President who did not see the decency in treating Guyana’s former first lady with respect and giving her what was legally due to her, without the spectacle of locking her out of state house and the other horrific treatment that was meted out to her for all Guyana and the world to see.
Then there was the infamous audio recording where it was believed that the voice on the recording was that of the Attorney General heard to be soliciting sexual services on behalf of his uncle as if he were a common pimp.
In February standing in our Parliament we had the most despicable attack on female members of the house when the Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharmlall hurled his infamous “dildo” attack on a female member in the opposition. It is interesting to note that my motion submitted over eight months ago on February 22 and acknowledged by the parliament on February 24 to take the minister to the privileges committee has been ducked by the parliament.
Most recently it was reported in the press that the PPP councilor from RDC region 4 Deoraj Nauth was arrested and charged for allegedly sexually molesting a 14 year old male student at Hope Secondary school.
And there was PPP/C activist, Ossie Rodgers who slapped and gun butted Kamala Bharrat of Bath settlement in a supermarket. This incident was caught on camera. It has since been reported that Mr. Rogers has fled the country despite an active investigation.
While Gail Texeria boasts of improvements in gender parity ratings it is clear that the party she represents has a torrid record of abusing women. We note that today President Ali launches his 1000 man initiative and while the concept is laudable we call on him to start with those in inner circle and drain his swamp.
Ossie Rogers assault on Varsha Bharrat*
Over the weekend of October 16-17, 2022, People Progressive Party (PPP) activist and media personality Ossie Rogers viciously, violently assaulted Ms. Varsha Bharrat in a Supermarket in Bath, Region 5. A part of the assault was captured by a CCTV camera of the said establishment.
The video shows Rogers, who resides in the USA, hitting Ms. Bharrat about her body during what appeared to be an argument. Ms. Bharrat later said in a video statement on social media that she was also gun-butted by Mr. Rogers.
Ossie Rogers, who was under investigation and had been detained for a short period of time and released on self-bail was allowed to leave the jurisdiction earlier than he had
planned, in an effort to avoid prosecution.
The violent assault of Ms. Bharrat, who complained of pains about her body, including her head, and the absolute silence of the PPP and their usual chorus of sycophants has not gone unnoticed and adds to a long string of egregious acts by the PPP in not holding it officials to account.
The PPP continues to pay lip service to good governance and the rule of law in this regard as in others. More so the PPP are hypocrites as they espouse the defense of, care, and concern for women but conveniently stay silent when strong actions are needed the most. They consistently fail to rise to the occasion.
Where is the justice for Varsha Bharrat and the numerous other women who have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of men protected by the PPP? Justice too long delayed is still considered justice denied.
The decayed and decadent minds in the PPP may consider matters closed where these infractions are concerned but they are not closed for the Guyanese people.
In the not-too-distant future, Guyanese will have their opportunity to recall the entire installed Peoples’ Progressive Party! Indeed, as the great Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King said, “The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice”.
END
Comments are closed