The Private Sector Commission (PSC) yesterday said that Elections Day should be declared a national holiday.
The PSC’s position came a day after the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) called for polling day to be a public holiday.
Responding to a question during a press conference yesterday, Ramesh Dookhoo, Chairman of the PSC, said that “we believe that Elections Day should be a holiday. We have said this to the Minister of Home Affairs and all other government officials who we meet with from time to time and we support the recent call by one section of the trade union movement to make elections a holiday.”
FITUG on Monday called on the administration, in conjunction with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to declare next Monday a national holiday.
“In order that no voter including FITUG’s 35,000 working members faces any type of constraint which could possibly impede his or her right to vote on Monday, FITUG proposes that the day be declared a National Holiday by the Ministry of Home Affairs in good time,” it said in a press release.
According to the release, if this is done, hinterland residents will therefore have “ample time to plan to get to their polling places and no employer anywhere will be in a position to impede or influence employees who wish to vote between the stipulated voting hours.”
The declaration in good time will afford government, private sector, commercial and educational facilities – many of them polling places – to plan and adjust for this polling day holiday, FITUG said before urging “urgent positive consideration” of the proposal in “the national interest.”
Meanwhile, when asked if there is a decline in shopping with elections being held so close to Christmas, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Komal Ramnauth said that the business sector is concerned about the timing of the elections. He said, however, that so far there have been no reports about a decline in business.
“Business is going on as usual but there is concern within the business sector,” he said.
