Rohee on electoral preparedness… The question is not whether the PPP is ready –but whether GECOM is
THE ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has reiterated its readiness for General or Local Government Elections, should either be called at short notice.
This is according to Party General Secretary Mr Clement Rohee. “We have always been ready for elections, but I’ve always made the point that the PPP is not an electioneering Party,” he told reporters Tuesday at his weekly press conference.
“As the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, I say, ‘Yes, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Party machinery as well as the activists, leadership and the Party in all of its manifestations are indeed ready,’” he said.
He noted that his Party is always on the ground, whether at the ministerial or political level, working tirelessly. And as a result of this, there is sometimes an inter-connection between the Government and the Party in the execution of their businesses, depending on the nature of activities.
Asked which election his Party would prefer to contest, Mr Rohee said, “We are ready for any eventuality. Whatever decision the leadership of the Party takes, in respect to one or the other, we are ready.
“The question is not so much whether we are ready; the question is whether GECOM is ready, because, it seems to us that GECOM appears to be more ready for General and Regional than Local Government Elections. There’s much more work to be done with respect to Local Government Elections at GECOM level.”
The election bug began buzzing just last month when the Alliance For Change (AFC) decided to submit a No-Confidence Motion to the Clerk of the National Assembly. AFC had initially expressed intent to present the Motion, which was later supported by the Main Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and subsequently submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Added to that, APNU’s call for Local Government Elections which were first made last year, has also initiated the call for elections.
Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier David Granger on September 9, issued an ultimatum to President Donald Ramotar, demanding a date for Local Government Elections by September 15. Uncertain about Granger’s demands, given the ambiguity of his statement, the President then called on the Opposition Leader to be more “clear” in his demands. This was however not attended to as the deadline passed.
Granger, as such, issued a call to the Guyanese populace to take to the streets in protest to back APNU’s demands for the holding of Local Government Elections. He subsequently made his appearance on national television and continued his call for countrywide protests, and for them to be executed lawfully.
The Opposition Leader’s call did not fall on deaf ears, since protest led by him began on Tuesday at different locations across the country.
excerpts from the Guyana Chronicle