With General and Regional Elections set for 2025, executive member of the Working People’s Alliance ( WPA), Dr David Hinds is calling on Guyanese to fight to ensure that the PPP does not return to government through electoral fraud.
Dr Hinds, on his online programme, Politics 101, with Dr David Hinds, Thursday, said Guyanese and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) must fight to ensure all systems are in place to allow for free and fair elections.
Dr Hinds said the fraudulent PPP Government “has to go and we have to begin to plot how to remove the government.”
“We are saying that we are committed to elections and we have to struggle to ensure those elections are credible, because it is the only way that is open to us.
We must struggle to make that machinery credible. But we cannot wait until we are satisfied that the machinery is credible before we start preparing for elections,” he told thousand of online viewers.
The WPA executive suggested the use of biometrics which would ensure that persons who turn up to vote are who they claim to be.
The PPP has already been accused of widespread electoral fraud at the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, allowing them to attain a one seat majority in Parliament.
The national recount which was undertaken by GECOM, unearthed almost 7,000 incidences of fraud, affecting some 200,000 votes. The cases ranged from dead to migrant voters and stuffed ballot boxes to missing statutory documents for the reconciliation of ballots.
Prior to the elections, the then APNU+AFC Government had continuously expressed concerns to GECOM that the process was moving ahead with a bloated Official List of Electors (OLE). The national recount had realised those fears when it was discovered that thousands of deceased and migrated person were listed as having voted in the elections.
“We have the evidence from the police when APNU sent samples to them, they were able to identify at least 90 per cent voters were not in the country at the time of elections. Between four and five thousand persons were flagged. And that’s a seat.
Biometrics is a must because we learned the last time that the PPP got at least one seat through voter impersonation. If we were to get biometrics, then we would be able to take deva of most of the voter impersonation and that could take away at least two seats from the PPP.”
Dr Hinds said elections are a “two-edge sword,” as some people hold elections, rig the elections and then take office. He said biometrics could cut two rigging seats from the PPP.
The voters list also needs a major overhaul by the elections commission, Dr Hinds contended. He said there are over 200,000 extra names on the voters list, which makes it easy for the PPP to get extra seats.
“If you have 200,000 extra persons and it takes 10,000 for two seats, you could easily take that 10,000 from that 200,000..
“ They got two seats from voter impersonation, they got another that they steal from the voter’s list and now they are courting the immigrants, Brazilians, Venezuelans and Colombians, and they are able to steal another three seats. That is how they intend to rig the elections,” the WPA official said of the PPP.
“One unequal Guyana”
Meanwhile, Dr Hinds reminded viewers that all Guyanese are equal and the demand for equal treatment and opportunities must be made of the PPP Government.
He said the government is comfortable requiring of the opposition, particularly, African Guyanese to submit themselves to be treated unequally. He said they are doing this while projecting a national narrative making their party dominant.
“ Having a national narrative when they have the economic power in their hand, the political no power in their hands, the cultural power in their hands, and they are saying let’s be national, let’s have one Guyana, but of course it’s an unequal Guyana.”
Dr Hinds said the road towards achieving equality in Guyana must begin with African Guyanese standing against the scourge.
“It starts with us African people. We do not get equality like that, we have to demand it. And that is why they are trying to shut some of us out because they believe that if they could get us out of the way, they could make some of our people unequal.”
The political scientist said he has no issue with African Guyanese being in the PPP. However , if they choose to sell themselves or other African Guyanese, then a sorun arises. He said those in the PPP are the quickest to trample on their fellow African Guyanese, accepting second class citizenship while urging other African Guyanese to become second class citizens.
“ If you are looking at us and say you are going to give us $100,000 but you are giving $100 million to others, then you are really saying to us you all are second class, low class citizens. That is a clear and present danger and has to be fought everyday.”
“We are not giving that fight up. The minute we give that fight up, we are surrendering ourselves to be enslaved.”