Opposition urged to return to Parliament

…as parties welcome President’s announcement of elections date

POLITICAL parties in Guyana have welcomed the announcement by President David Granger that the earliest possible date for the holding of General and Regional Elections will be on Monday, March 2, 2020 and have called on the parliamentary opposition to return to the house to grant an extension of the government for the purpose of holding elections.
Leaders within these parties on Wednesday stated that Guyanese can now “breathe a sigh of relief” that the back and forth between political parties has given way to a fair timeline which would allow them their right to choose their own leaders.

In a statement on Thursday, the Alliance For Change (AFC) expressed that its position has always been that elections must be held as early as possible and conducted in such a manner that maintains public confidence in the process. The AFC stated the President’s announcement is therefore welcomed by the party as continued movement in the right direction.

“The AFC is also satisfied that within the time-frame as espoused by GECOM, credible elections can and will be held. The AFC is confident that when elections are held the APNU+AFC Coalition Government will be returned to office given its stewardship of the government, having inherited a crippled economy and governance apparatus, after 23 years of a corrupt and bankrupted PPP/C administration. The return of the APNU+AFC coalition to office will ensure the continued rise of the quality of life for all the Guyanese people through the sustainable development in our homeland,” the Party stated.
Meanwhile, Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr David Hinds told the newspaper that the WPA is not surprised that the President has kept his promise and acted in the best interest of all Guyanese. “The WPA welcomes the announcement of the date; we’re not surprised that the President has promptly named a date that is very close to the timeline given by the GECOM. We feel that the President has been consistent in dealing with this matter and we never doubted for one moment that he would not stand by his word,” he stated.

“The WPA, like the rest of the country, breathes a sigh of relief because we feel that the back and forth between the political sides was becoming very frustrating to the ordinary citizens. We have an election to go to and the citizens wanted the matter to be determined one way or the other.”

CHOOSE, ACT WISELY
Leaving words of advice to moving forward, Dr Hinds stated that citizens should strive for a conflict-free election; make demands on both parties on how they intend the manage the country’s oil and gas resources and exercise their vote as wisely as possible. “I think Guyanese citizens should realise that this election is going to be the most important election in our post-colonial history,” he said
“Who governs over the coming period will determine a lot about what happens to Guyana in that period…the first years of Guyana as an oil and gas economy.”
Also in an interview, General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Amna Ally hailed the President’s statement as a “welcoming signal” which will permit all eligible Guyanese to practice their democratic right. Even as the PNC/R is now more enthused to campaign for a sweeping win the coming elections, she reminded that citizens must do away with divisive actions or intentions and peacefully participate.
“We would want to call on all Guyanese to let all our activities be faithful. Regardless of our political upbringing, we must focus on peace and togetherness. Because when elections are done, we all still have to live together,” she advised.

AFC youth arm

Also welcoming the announcement was the AFC’s youth arm, Youth For Change (YFC) which said in a release: “The March 2, 2020 election date will give the Guyanese people both the time to celebrate the 50th Republic anniversary of our country and, immediately after, part-take in free, fair and credible General and Regional elections. As a body that represents youth of all backgrounds in Guyana, we encourage all Guyanese to exercise their democratic right smartly and vote to re-elect the APNU+AFC Government on March 2, 2020.”

The youth movement said collectively as a democratic youth arm “we reiterate our full confidence in the APNU+AFC government and fully agree with the March 2, 2020 election date. The YFC also takes this opportunity to congratulate and express sincere gratitude to H. E President David A. Granger and his cabinet for continuing to abide by the constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.”

Additionally, the YFC said with this announcement, the YFC now calls on the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic to vote resoundingly with the APNU + AFC for an extension of the period for elections to March 2, 2020 for the holding of credible elections when the national assembly reconvenes on October 10 2019.

The YFC further wishes to thank the GECOM commissioners who would have been working overtime to ensure everything is in place for credible elections at the shortest possible time. GECOM has spoken and the President has named a date – the opposition must now do its part, in the best interest of the people of Guyana. The March 2, 2020 election date will give the Guyanese people both the time to celebrate the 50th republic anniversary of our country and immediately after participate in free, fair and credible General and Regional elections.

IT’S A PROCESS
However, picking through the President’s announcement on Thursday, PPP/C MP Anil Nandlall stated that the President was playing “political games.” He pointed out that President Granger did not name a date, but stated that “the earliest possible date for the holding of General and Regional Elections will be on Monday, 2nd March 2020”.
While others have begun to run with the narrative, the Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the process towards the President’s proclamation of an election date must follow certain procedures. The newspaper was reminded that elections dates are made by proclamation and, while the President has named a date, these actions must go through the statutory process which would see his decision being gazetted.

EXTENSION NEEDED

Added to this, President David Granger has expressed his desire to see the opposition return to the National Assembly on October 10, 2019 to facilitate an extension of a period beyond three months for the holding of an election. Article 106 (7) of the Constitution states: “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election”.

Meanwhile, the President is required to dissolve Parliament and the 10 Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) with the election of members of the National Assembly to come three months after the dissolution. In this light, the AFC has called on the opposition to do its part by returning to the National Assembly for the cause in question.
“The Party remains of the view that all constitutional requirements for the holding of these Elections are being followed by the Government of Guyana. The next constitutional requirement to be satisfied to ensure that Elections 2020 cannot be successfully challenged legally is an extension of the Election date by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. As such we urge the Opposition to give its support for the extension now needed for the set date,” the AFC stated.

Likewise, a statement from General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis prior to the President’s announcement urged the same.
“…it is imperative that Article 106 (7) be upheld before the calling of any election. Both parties must return to the National Assembly, agree by 2/3 majority for the continuation of government in order to facilitate the constitutional process of calling an election. Failing to do so can lead to constitutional or other challenges to any group that is elected,” he stated.
However, on Thursday night, the PPP/C in a statement contended that “there is no valid link between these two issues” and that a return to the National Assembly “is wholly unnecessary.”

“The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) remains convinced that his [the President’s] call for a return to the National Assembly is an attempt to blackmail the parliamentary opposition…”
At GECOM’s end, the secretariat has been actively training polling day staff countrywide with such still taking place in Region 4 and more training planned of the hinterland region soon. The first batch of data, encoded into the National Register of Registrants Database from the recently concluded House-to-House, is expected to be sent to GECOM’s service providers in the United States of America (USA) to be cross-matched soon.