The period between March 2, 2020 and August 2, 2020, when the incumbent APNU/AFC government refused to hand over power to the winning PPP/C, was a period of uncertainty, trials, and darkness for the people of Guyana – reflective entirely of the title of Martin Carter’s Poem, “This is a Dark Time, My Love.” It was indeed a dark time for Guyana, and those who resided on the coast faced the imminent threat of starvation, sickness, and death – all riding on the back of the world’s deadliest pandemic.
But most of all, it is was embarrassing. The whole impasse was an embarrassment to the Guyana’s judicial system, political fibre, and the king of all – GECOM. One injunction after the other was filed by supporters of the incumbent coalition government, overturned by the High Court, restored by the Court of Appeal, and finally overturned again by the Caribbean Court of Justice. All of this made political scholars question the legitimacy of those employed by Guyana’s Court of Appeal and dropped a glaring spotlight on the clear political bias of GECOM – which was supposed to be the politically neutral gatekeepers.
