This week on What the People Say we asked members of the public: Are you excited about the elections? What should be the number one issue to be addressed? Here are their responses:
Shonette Simon, salesperson,
`I am not excited about the elections at all because this is the third elections season I’m a part of and I’ve never seen such gimmicks. They are just throwing slangs at each other and the ones that you don’t expect that from are the ones who are worst at it. And the crossing over, oh my God; this is the first game of hop-scotch I am seeing when they jump around from party to party. And because of that you can’t trust what they are saying. If you come from one party and you would talk about that party, I won’t trust you.’
Alim Baksh, tailor,
`Well I am excited about the elections yes, because I want it to come quickly and done and ease up all this tension that is going on. I am also praying for the elections to be peaceful. Everybody has a right to vote for whatever party they want. I feel that whichever party wins people should respect that and let the country move on. I think that the politicians should address the issue of unity; it is very important for all of us to live as one.’
Jairaj Tulsie, volunteer for the People’s Progressive Party,
`I am excited for the elections to come quickly and done and I want it to be peaceful. We don’t want any disturbance. I have a strong feeling that the PPP will win. I am supporting that party and based on the number of places we have been visiting I would say we have 75% of the votes. I believe that the politicians should address the issue of investing more so that farmers could benefit. I also would like them to talk about creating more jobs for the young people.’
Toolsiedai Sewsankar,
pensioner,
`I have noticed all the excitement that is going on to have meetings all over and that is what is reminding me that elections day is very close. I don’t know who would get in. I just hope that there would not be any tension and that we continue to live good with everyone, regardless of race or which party we vote for. Whichever party wins, they have to serve the people with what they need. Whether you are ‘black’ or ‘white’ everybody has to continue to live in love and unity.’
Ucretia Chifoon, celery farmer,
`For me I can’t wait for the elections to come and finish quickly because of all the tension that is going on now especially with the meetings all over. I think we would have peaceful elections. In fact we don’t normally have problems in Berbice. The only thing is that the politicians would come and disrupt your lives and when they gone we are left in the confusion. In the end, whoever win or lose we have to get back to our normal lives. I feel that the number one issue they should address is the unemployment. As long as everybody gets a job everything would run smoothly; the crime rate would ease up.’
Robert Goring,
retired Post Master,
`I am just praying that everything would go peacefully during the elections. I do not want to see persons treating each other cruelly and be hostile. Everybody has a right to exercise his or her franchise and no one should criticise if he is not in the same political camp. No matter what the outcome of the elections, peace must prevail. Unemployment is a burning issue that should be addressed. It makes me sad to see so many youths just roaming the streets after leaving school and mixing with bad company and getting into trouble. To me the only thing that would help that is the Guyana National Service; that is a very good thing for Guyana right now.’
Eon Waldron, electrician,
`Right now I am anxiously waiting on the presidential debate because we have so many problems facing us. They need to address the lack of employment, the crime rate, the high VAT and many other issues. I am excited about the elections but it must be incident-free; free from violence and tension. Everybody should go to the poll and do what they have to do. And if we get new leaders come November 28th we have to work with them because we are all Guyanese.’
Sewraji Mulchand, vendor,
`Yes, I am excited about the elections because I want to know what would be outcome. There is a strong fight among the main parties but I feel that the PPP will win again. If that is the case, then everybody should respect that and allow them to remain in office without any fight. I do not want to go back to the time when we were afraid to pass Buxton and when persons used to burn the road. To me, everything would be ok though.’
Gina Ali, minibus driver,
`I have been a member of the PPP since I was a youth and I think they are doing a good job. I am excited about the elections because I want the PPP to win and remain in power. They will continue the progress to benefit all Guyanese. There is no need for people to fight and be violent based on the outcome of the results. Despite my preference I get along well with persons from the other parties; that’s how it should be. The issue I would like to see addressed is the high traffic fine. The police are actually making the money, not the government… drivers are at times, forced to give $5,000 to the police instead of going to court and paying the full fine.’
Vishnu Bissoon,
minibus driver,
`I am very excited about the upcoming General Elections and I would be happy if Mr. Donald Ramotar can be elected president of this country. And if elected, the most important thing I would like him to do is to secure our border where a lot of arms and ammunition and drugs are passing. Those are the things I would like the government of the day to address because that is what is affecting this country a lot.’
