Dear Editor,
The utterances of Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker, demand a swift and terse response from the relevant parliamentary spokespersons of the two opposition parties. In fact, there should be a joint press conference to roundly condemn the statement by this Minister and the PPP. It is poor journalism by the SN not to have contacted all the opposition parties for their views on such a sensitive issue, especially when he or she interviewed the Minister on the subject matter under discussion. There seems to be no co-ordination by Stabroek News in its commendable campaign for local government elections.
The Minister and his government must not be allowed to get away with this immature and silly statement: “the majority of Guyanese do not see local government polls as a priority.” This fellow lives in a different world – on an island on his own. Minister Whittaker and the PPP cannot be allowed to decide whether we need to have elections at the local level. It is our constitutional right to have local government elections every three years and we must have it at all costs.
Not holding the elections for 20 years is worse than rigging elections. The opposition forces must lead a public campaign as is done daily in Stabroek News for local government elections. The PPP has gone on a rampage against this newspaper for calling for these elections and has maligned it as an opposition newspaper, rather than a democratic voice of the people. The PPP had used the Stabroek News as a platform against the PNC to call for free and fair elections in Guyana and they were not seen as ‘non-independent’ during that period. Why now? Everyone will notice the absolute hypocrisy of the PPP and its minority government.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Rahman
