The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) James Patterson Friday charged that “mischief” is afoot to stall Local Government elections which are scheduled for November 12.
“These are troubling times for elections in Guyana,” were the first words he uttered at the start of a press conference at the GECOM headquarters, Kingston, Georgetown.
He said there were “designs and machinations to stymie the operations” of the Commission.
“Mischief is afoot, internal and external.
“…it is self-evident that the object is to stall the election,” he stated.
He said that since the beginning of his “regime,” it seems to be that integrity has been put in a blind trust.
Patterson would not be dragged into giving details of these internal and external factors, but he was clear that “private” discussions of the Commission are almost immediately made public.
“Fortunately, I have a cadre of operatives who don’t yield to that sort of description, and they, as the saying goes, hold my hand,” he stated.
“I don’t know how many Guyanese realise that the existence and function of GECOM are critical to democracy.
“So anybody who wants to destabilise its work is tampering with democracy,” he declared.
He said that it seems to be the default position of local politicians seems to be to play the racial card.
“It seems to be our politicians have retreated into ethno-political camps.
“That has got to stop if this country is to move forward,” he stated.
Patterson said he has done all that is humanly possible to weld the opposing factions together but it seems things are getting worse.
The GECOM Head suggested too that there is an abuse of the legal process so that the “the legal system has become a tool of disruption.”
