Opposition members in Parliament, Monday November 10.

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The current prorogation of Guyana’s Parliament has failed, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon has admitted; reasoning that there is no value in its continuation which could last up to six months.

He said the government has not been able to achieve the objectives of the almost one month old prorogation.

President Donald Ramotar had hoped when he prorogued Parliament on November 10 that it will allow for dialogue between the Executive and the Parliamentary Opposition but this has failed to materialize with both the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) maintaining that there will be no engagement with the government while there is a nonfunctional Parliament.  

Dr. Luncheon told reporters this morning that the Head of State has registered his disappointment in Opposition Leader David Granger’s rejection of his November 18 invitation to dialogue and will now move to consider his other options with early general elections seeming to be a more popular choice.

Mr. Ramotar is expected to meet with members of the media on Saturday, December 6 but it is not clear if he will make any definite pronouncements on elections or the resumption of Parliament.

“There can be little doubt that general elections are gaining currency as a reasonable and acceptable alternative to talks among parliamentary political parties,” Dr. Luncheon said.

Already the President has begun to engage stakeholders, after which he is likely to make a decision on the issue at hand. “Ultimately the President will call the shots.”

It is in this context that the President is now considering his options, including those that were available prior to  November 10 , in the context of a “failed prorogation”, the Cabinet Secretary added.

Luncheon said he has his own opinion on the issue but refused to share. Only Monday last General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said while President Ramotar has promised to hold long overdue local government elections by the second quarter of 2015 , the possibility of him making good on that promise seems highly unlikely.

Rohee said there are no active discussions at the Party or Government level on announcing a definite date for those elections; adding that based on his assessment of the current political situation in Guyana, it seems as though local government elections are out of the question.

The PPP GS says when the Leaders of the Opposition Parties, the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) speak “it seems as though local government elections is now out of the question and the call is for general and regional elections.”