Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Dec 07, 2014 News
By Kiana Wilburg
Christmas did not come early particularly for some members of the political opposition. The best present some opined,
would have been for President Donald Ramotar to announce a date for elections.
However, his delay in naming a date was viewed as just another ‘political scheme’.
President Ramotar announced yesterday at a press briefing at State House that after realizing that his objective for the prorogation of the Parliament has turned out to be unsuccessful, it is clear that Government must go to the polls.
Ramotar decided that it was best not to announce the date for elections at this point on the citizenry. He said that the Christmas season is here and he wanted the people to have a merry Christmas.
He told members of the media that he will announce the elections date early next year and that he will be consulting with the Guyana Elections Commission on its readiness.
But most members of the joint opposition are not appeased. Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that he is disappointed that Ramotar did not announce a date for elections. However, he said that he can sympathize with him.
“I understand he is confused and scraping the barrel at Freedom House and they have some internal problems too. I feel appeased to a certain extent but he should call a date and I will be happy when he makes the announcement. Right now, he is giving us a half-baked loaf; he is beating around the bush.”
AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, in response to the President’s announcement also said, “What is new? The people of this country are not amused by it. And the AFC anticipated Ramotar’s move.”
In a statement released to the press, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) also called on the President to stop ‘pussy-footing’ with the lives of the Guyanese people and name a date for elections.
The coalition said that Ramotar’s 15-minute attempt to give justification for the failure of his administration and his silencing
of the voice of the people is further proof that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic cannot be trusted to handle the affairs of this nation.
For President Ramotar to insist on the ongoing prorogation of the Parliament of Guyana, APNU said, highlights the PPP/C’s cowardly attempt to avoid the flood of adverse criticism facing its scandal-prone administration especially pertaining to corruption and crime.
The coalition had earlier alerted the nation that the government had been preparing for General and Regional elections for several months. It said that this was the reason why the President has been systematically scuttling every attempt to reach agreement on important issues to be debated by the National Assembly with the Opposition APNU and AFC.
The opposition party said that it is convinced that this was the reason the President precipitated a political crisis by proroguing Parliament on November 10.
It said that the PPP wanted a ‘free hand’ to continue to spend state resources on the ‘schools’ cash grants’, the ‘clean-up-the-country’ and other projects as part of its elections campaign.
The coalition also noted that it warned that the President was never serious or sincere about dialogue with the Opposition.
It asserted that dialogue should have been aimed at addressing the needs for local government elections, collaboration on the national budget, the passage of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism legislation and other matters.
APNU said that it is convinced that the outcome of the forthcoming elections will be determined not by the PPP’s political trickery but by the votes of hundreds of thousands of Guyanese who are fed-up with the PPP.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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