Opposition calls President’s “bluff” over possible general polls

By: Zena Henry 
Opposition parties are not convinced that the bitter spat over this year’s budget will spur on general elections. In fact, Alliance for Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan is calling President Donald Ramotar’s “bluff” amidst any suspected move to call General Elections.
The AFC head was responding to questions over the likelihood of general elections given the further divide between the opposition and the government in Parliament following the ‘budget cuts ruling’ of Chief Justice Ian Chang a few weeks ago.

APNU’s Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge

Ramjattan charged that in his opinion, “the President will never call General Elections.” He said, “I don’t think the President would want to deny himself two years out of his presidency. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) does not want Mr. Ramotar to be the next presidential candidate,” Ramjattan went on to say. “So for the President to call elections, I think it is out of the question.”
After explaining that the Administration can call elections at anytime it deems, Ramjattan said, “I believe that Mr. Ramotar will be trying to bluff the opposition over any call for elections. Jagdeo (former President Bharrat Jagdeo) has told him (President Ramotar) that he is a ‘lame duck president’ and he would only want to bluff the opposition.”
“I am calling his bluff,” Ramjattan continued, “If I am wrong let him call elections.”
Ramjattam explained that his party would not be seeking to disapprove the whole the budget. He said that disapproving the whole budget would see the government being forced to hold general polls. But Ramjattan is adamant that the AFC will not put public servants in a dire position where police officers, nurses and other public servants cannot be paid.
“We are not proposing to cut the entire budget, but we will disapprove line items that we believe are corrupt or unnecessary.”
Ramjattan related that there are over 5000 line items that appears from volumes one to three of the budget for all state ministries/agencies. These line items speak to various needs such as oils, lubricants, salaries etc.
“The CJ is saying we can approve or disapprove so the agency will get not even a dollar; since we can’t reduce the figure we will not approve it.”
This, he said, means that the Minister will not be legally allowed to spend money for that sector. Ramjattan said that for instance where the opposition had reduced funds for National Communications Network (NCN) to one dollar, they will not receive a cent, if allocations for that sector are not approved this year; and that means workers will be sent home, Ramjattan said.

AFC Leader
Khemraj Ramjattan

He continued that there will be no revisions to be made by the Finance Minister after the sector is disapproved because it will be illegal. “If the sector is not approved that means it is reduced to zero, the CJ said to cut is wrong, but he said we can disapprove; which is less than one dollar.”
Chief Justice Chang had stated in his budget cut ruling that when the opposition reduced certain public sectors to one dollar, they had performed a final act. He said that there would be no revision that could be done to suffice for the sector being cut or reduced.
Opposition Leader for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), David Granger, had told Kaieteur News in an interview last week that if the government is to go ahead with a budget that has no consensus, then it would be identical to a “car crash.”
Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge told Kaieteur News yesterday that he too is not convinced that the CJ’s ruling on the budget cuts will trigger general polls. He told Kaieteur News that the CJ ruled that the budget cannot be cut in the way it was done in the past where sectors were reduced to one dollar, but if it is done the way the CJ ruled then it will not trigger a problem. He said that he does not believe that the government will jump to elections.
He said however that if the entire budget is turned down then the government can suspend Parliament’s Standing Orders and return with a whole new budget given the agreement of Parliament. If not, he said, then the government will be forced to call elections because that nation cannot function without money.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has however taken note that the possibility of general elections being called this year, ahead of time, is not farfetched. The agency’s PRO Vishnu Persuad told Kaieteur News, “The Commission has already started thinking along those lines and has started to put itself together for that eventuality.”
The process, he said, could take place in three months (90 days) or in an additional time frame if so requested by parliament. The request would however be made by the President who would notify the elections commission that it should gear for elections.