‘Rigged elections’ fuss is crying wolf – Harmon

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has said the fuss about rigged elections is just “crying wolf before the actual wolf comes” but quickly assured the nation that “there’s no wolf that’s going to come.”

Harmon, during the post-cabinet press briefing Friday, criticised the Parliamentary Opposition for creating public panic by portraying to its support base that the government intends to rig the upcoming national election in 2020.

“Why are we talking about rigging an election that is so far away from now? We have so many things that have to be done between now and then that – the world will be looking. It’s really crying wolf before the actual wolf comes. And there’s no wolf that’s going to come,” he stated.

Members of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) have raised concerns about rigged elections following the unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson as the chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Harmon argued that it would be impossible for elections to be rigged when the PPP would have its representatives on the Commission and the international community looking on.

“Much has been said that the appointment of Justice Patterson will affect the Carter Formula and all that. Utter nonsense. The Carter Formula provides for three Commissioners from the Opposition and three from the government and the Chairman. You mean to tell me that you gonna just sit down there and see this Chairman acting on his own and don’t start to make noise?”

Harmon also stated that it is no big deal that Justice Patterson only acted in the capacity as Chief Justice of Grenada.

“The issue of his CV and whether he is substantive or whether he is acting. I don’t know if it’s something we should give all of those problems to because we have a lot of people here in thiscountry who are acting. The Chancellor of the Judiciary who just retired was acting at the time he retired. We won’t say that he was not the Chancellor of the Judiciary. The current Chancellor is acting; the current Chief Justice is acting,” Harmon said.

Justice Patterson on Thursday admitted that, contrary to what is stated on his CV, he had only acted as Chief Justice of Grenada.