President Donald Ramotar last evening announced May 11th as the date for general and regional elections, ending two months of suspense after he prorogued the Parliament.
Ramotar announced the date during an address to the nation aired on the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN), in which he emphasised that he and the government have acted within the ambit of the constitution.
Following the announcement, Opposition Leader David Granger told Stabroek News he welcomed the setting of a date and assured that the main opposition coalition APNU is prepared for “clean, free, fair and transparent elections.”
In recent weeks, the Ramotar administration has come under intense pressure from both at home and abroad to name a date. The United States, Britain and the Organisation of American States have all called for the ending of the prorogation of the Parliament or the holding of elections.
In a statement last evening the ruling PPP said it is “ready and steady” for the polls.
“The Party’s machinery is well oiled and its members, supporters and well-wishers are in the mood. They are about to be afflicted by elections fever now that May 11th has been announced as “E” Day”, Freedom House said.
It added “The Party will be going to these elections with a spirit of optimism and confidence.
05 “The PPP will exert every effort to continue the long-standing Party tradition of achieving victory at the Polls as it did since 1957 save for the period from 1968 to 1992 when the Guyanese people’s democratic right to elect a Government of their choice was stolen from them by the People’s National Congress (PNC).
“The people won back that right in 1992 and Guyana was once again placed firmly on the path to social and economic progress, coupled with the upholding of the political, civil and cultural rights of all Guyanese people.”
The party is still to formally announce who its presidential candidate will be and it is widely believed that long-serving Prime Minister Sam Hinds will not return to the number two position.
On November 10 last year, Ramotar prorogued the Parliament to avoid a motion of no-confidence brought against his government by the opposition party AFC in the name of MP Moses Nagamootoo. After his attempts to engage the opposition in dialogue failed to get off the ground, Ramotar later promised to name a date for elections early this year, after saying he did not want to interrupt Christmas celebrations.
However after nearly three weeks into the New Year, pressure began mounting with western diplomats expressing dissatisfaction at the long prorogation period.
In his address yesterday, Ramotar stated that he had acted in accordance with the constitution at all times. He also said the government paid “strict adherence” to the constitution in administering the welfare of the nation and that there were regular interactions with national and international stakeholders to keep them abreast with developments and his efforts to reach some level of political consensus.
Ramotar noted that he had hoped the period of prorogation would have allowed for “extant tensions to ease” and for all of the parliamentary parties “to constructively engage the government.”
“Unfortunately, the opportunities that prorogation provided for continued dialogue and engagements with the parliamentary opposition parties have not materialised. The parliamentary opposition adopted an inflexible position that they will not engage with me until parliament is reconvened. I had hoped that they would have reconsidered this unproductive posture and meet with me so that we can discuss our differences and find solutions to advance the development of Guyana,” he said.
Ramotar added that he had made it clear that he remained open to dialogue with the opposition parties. “It is a door that I did not nor do not intend to shut, now or ever. In light of the opposition’s sustained refusal to engage my government in the dialogue we anticipated and in light of the commitment I made to you, the people of Guyana, I now move towards general elections,” he further said.
Ramotar also said he took the decision to prorogue the Parliament to “enfranchise” persons who could not get on the voters roll at the last elections because of a lack of source documents. He identified these persons as being mainly residents living in the hinterland.
The President noted that meetings were held with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to emphasise the need for its readiness for the holding of free, fair, transparent and efficient elections.
Ramotar will have to issue a proclamation dissolving the 10th Parliament. Article 61 of the constitution says in part: “An election of members of the National Assembly under article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation…”
‘Well-prepared’
In response to the president’s announcement, GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally told Stabroek News yesterday that he wanted the populace to be assured that the commission will be fully ready.
“It is a very good date and the staff will be well-prepared come elections day,” he said.
Surujbally said he believes GECOM will execute a proficient run off of the elections and he has confidence in the staff hired for the work. He said too that political parties have an integral role to play in ensuring trouble-free elections. “I think we will have a good election, that is, if the political parties during their campaigning follow the code of conduct”, he said.
“We have been preparing for this and now that a date is announced we can and will go full gear with our voter edification and so forth. We are and have been training polling day staff and we will call them back for a refresher before the day but generally we are absolutely ready,” he added.
‘Abuse’
Meanwhile, Granger said he hopes the elections will not be marred by the current administration’s abuse of state funds for party campaigning or mudslinging against him or any other politician or supporter.
“The campaigning will go on but we are concerned about the use of state media and funds from the state that are being used as campaign tools and which gives them an electoral advantage. You know, the solar panels, school grants and so on,” he said.
“Already there has been hostile propaganda against me where my face was put on flyers with Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein, which was demeaning. This type of campaigning creates a hostile environment and I want the PPP/C to commit to being clean,” he added.
Granger said that while observers have pointed out that the date set was a campaign strategy by the PPP/C—with the aim of galvanizing ethnic support since it falls near Indian Arrival Day on May 5th—it would fail because Guyanese are voting on policies rather than ethnicity or emotion.
“This election will not be decided by ethnic affiliation but by groundings on firm policies and issues so let them go right ahead… the people are not concerned about race, they are concerned about jobs, high unemployment, the cost of living, rise in crime, a future for their children, that’s what they are concerned about,” he stated.
Ramotar, in his address, said he intends to invite international observers to be part of the elections process and expects the political parties, the security services and the people of Guyana to conduct themselves in a manner that would ensure continued peace and stability before, during and after the elections. “We have a collective obligation to ensure the protection of the democratic gains we have made and for which we have endured so much as a nation to secure,” he said.
Up to press time there had been no statement from the AFC on the election date. On his Facebook page Nagamootoo said “This is a great victory for the people, and for democratic states like the USA, UK and Canada that urged restoration of parliamentary democracy in Guyana.”
CSEC exams are usually held in May and it is unclear what would happen if any exams fall on election day as many secondary schools are used as polling stations.
