Video: PPP gets presidency
The incumbent PPP/C has won enough votes in the general elections to keep the presidency, but will lead a minority government after opposition groups APNU and AFC got enough support to scrape a one-seat advantage in the National Assembly. PPP/C candidate Donald Ramotar will be sworn in as the country’s next president, but his government [...]
Joint opposition starts talks with interest groups
-truth commission, end to executive presidency among priorities The Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP), comprising the PNCR, Guyana Action Party (GAP), the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and the National Front Alliance (NFA), has started consultations with interest groups to formalise a broad alliance to contest next year’s general elections. On Friday, PNCR executive Lance Carberry [...]
Peter Ramsaroop targets young voters, plugs ‘different thinking’
With the announcement of an independent bid for the presidency, businessman Peter Ramsaroop is banking on the support of young voters, saying that they are an untapped constituency that could shift the balance of power at next year’s election. “These politicians are stuck in a time warp,” Ramsaroop told Stabroek News. “And I tell them, [...]
GECOM to write OP on ads directive
Amid concerns about moves on its independent functioning, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has taken the decision to write the Office of the President (OP) to determine whether a recent directive on advertising will affect the civic and voter education plans for next year’s general election. OP has directed GECOM to submit its advertisements and [...]
Luncheon directs GECOM to place ads on procurement website
The Office of the President (OP) has directed the Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM) to submit its advertisements and notices for publication through the new government procurement website. In correspondence dated September 16, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon specifies that advertisements/notices “with the exception of those associated with discharging GECOM’s constitutional and legal [...]
Competition body hearing wholesalers complaint against NAMILCO
Sixteen wholesale buyers of flour have reported the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) to the Competition Commission for allegedly giving preferential prices to some clients, which they say is in contravention of the Competition and Fair Trading Act. The buyers sought an investigation of NAMILCO and the Commission last month summoned them to a hearing on [...]
Granger: PNCR can win
-open to power sharing ‘I don’t feel the PNC, at present, needs to apologise for anything. What it needs to do is to have the past investigated and where things are proven to be wrong or illegal or as you describe them as excesses, well, let an inquiry speak’ Retired Brigadier David Granger believes that [...]
GAP keen on curbing presidential powers
Guyana Action Party (GAP) MP Everall Franklin has proposed constitutional changes to reduce the powers of the president to form the basis of an electoral alliance, which he says offers “a small window of opportunity” to get the country back on the right path. “There must be a commitment to specific actions that would ensure [...]
Ramkarran says he backs presidential term limits
Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran says he supports the presidential term limit, explaining that it is an important factor in democratic systems. “I am in support of term limits,” Ramkarran said in a recent interview with Stabroek News, citing “Guyana’s special history.” Ramkarran, who has indicated his interest in being the ruling PPP’s [...]
Ending extreme poverty would top my agenda- Ramkarran
Convinced that he is fully qualified to be the PPP’s presidential candidate at next year’s general elections, Speaker of the House Ralph Ramkarran says eliminating extreme poverty would top his agenda if he were eventually elected into office. At a labour conference last week, Ramkarran publicly declared his interest in serving as the governing party’s [...]
Bajan strategist was here as part of AFC-led move for alliances
Barbadian political strategist Hartley Henry earlier this week met with representatives of several political parties and other groups here, as part of an AFC-led initiative to explore alliances ahead of next year’s general elections. In addition to members of the AFC’s National Executive Committee, Henry met with members of the PNCR, including leader Robert Corbin [...]
Murray urges code of conduct for ministers
-says donors must do more for transparency PNCR-1G MP Winston Murray is advocating a code to guide the conduct of ministers, as part of a concerted approach to rein in what he described as rampant corruption within government. At a symposium on “Financial Accountability and Good Governance,” held at City Hall on Wednesday evening, Murray [...]
Opportunity seen in Corbin move
-but scepticism abounds PNCR leader Robert Corbin’s decision against running as its presidential candidate at next year’s general elections is being seen as an opportunity to reverse the fortunes of the main opposition, and a possible opening for an alliance to challenge the ruling PPP/C. But the announcement has also been greeted with a degree [...]
Social networks create new campaign trails
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz is living proof that social networking can level the playing field during election campaigns. In 2008 Barack Obama harnessed the influence of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in an unprecedented way to connect with voters, organise support, raise funds and ultimately win the contest for the White House. But in addition to [...]
Social media reboots governments for the digital age
‘What are you doing?’ With the ubiquity of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, that question has been an invitation for observations that range from the innocuous (‘Writing a story’) to those that until recently only existed within the realm of speculation (‘Girl shot in Tehran’). The new information network, having irreversibly transformed global [...]