Dear Editor,
I was satisfied that the electoral system could deliver transparently accurate results. However, the fact remains that I still am hearing that even some well-respected people are not convinced. This must be simply due to a lack of electoral process education. I would advise them to put their concerns in writing, and telephone Gecom for an appointment to clear up the matters. The certitude claimed by the election commissioners after taking so long to declare the results must not be locked away, but must be patiently unfolded to the enquiring public, whose taxes have funded the Commission.
Your Sunday issue (December 4) contained three contributions that help in articulating my political concerns. I like Rickford Burke’s idea that the prime minister be appointed from APNU candidates. APNU, by their very name, has already declared they are willing to work with everybody. I voted for the AFC, and I am glad I did, but based on the election results, they should get a deputy prime minister‘s post, not a vice-presidency, which would upset the line of authority. Distribution of other ministries would be a good move.
Abu Bakr insightfully saw that the recall legislation passed recently will eliminate floor crossings in the legislative assembly. The executive arm of the government cannot therefore entice susceptible opposition parliamentarians with rewards of power. So the question remains: will President Ramotar have the perspicacity to break out of the groupthink described (once again) by Ian McDonald, understanding that it cannot be business as usual, and have the courage to make the necessary appointments? We do not want to hear afterwards that the country is not making progress because the opposition is blocking it in parliament. It should be evident to the PPP/C that they must act now to get the other leaders on the same team for the betterment of the nation. I thank God and the people of Guyana for delivering such a result. I pray God’s blessings on Guyana, and on President Ramotar that he go down in our history as the man who used the election result to engineer genuine cooperation in the (as far as I know, still named) Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai
