The PPP/C says that the opposition’s tactics on the selecting of a Speaker for the new Parliament shows a lack of sincerity which does not bode well for future cooperation.
In a statement yesterday, the PPP/C was referring to a report in the Stabroek News on December 22th and others which indicated that A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change are to settle on an opposition candidate who they will vote in using their parliamentary majority.
“This is varying from the practice of Parliamentary democracies within the Commonwealth. In those countries it is the ruling party whose nominee gets the position while the deputy goes to the opposition. This was the practice while the PPP had the majority in Parliament as well”, the ruling party said.
Noting its intention to nominate former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran who it said had won commendation from both sides of the House, the PPP/C said “The opposition tactics is signaling that they do not intend to cooperate with the Government with any degree of sincerity. The fact that they have moved away from the established practice of parliamentary democracies speaks volumes. This does not bode well for future cooperation.”
It further asked if the opposition was settling for its own candidate what was the purpose of the matter being on the agenda for talks with the PPP/C government?
It charged that in the new situation in Guyana, the opposition parties that were previously opposed to “winner taking all” have now moved to the “ridiculous position of `losers taking all’”.
Opposition analysts have noted that the PPP/C itself has made unilateral moves without involving the opposition. They point to the naming of a Cabinet that was completely PPP/C and the addition of an entirely new portfolio for Minister Robert Persaud, something that the opposition might have wanted an input in, considering the changed circumstances in Parliament. They also point to the naming by President Donald Ramotar of an advisory panel on tax reforms.
In the SN news item of December 22, it was stated that APNU and the AFC were still locked in discussions as to who will be the Opposition nominee for Speaker of the National Assembly.
AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan is lobbying for Moses Nagamootoo to fill the post while APNU is backing Deborah Backer.
AFC Leader Raphael Trotman told Stabroek News that the party will not abstain from the vote on the Speaker at the expense of an opposition person. “We definitely want an opposition nominee to be speaker,” he said.
Recently APNU Leader David Granger told Stabroek News that APNU and the AFC were committed to selecting a candidate that would best meet a set of identified requirements. He said that at first the parties were caught up with personalities but since then the talks have come on track with the focus being on seeing what is best needed for the effective running of the National Assembly and in selecting someone who can effectively do this. While conceding that the decision was taking some time, Granger said that the parties were not in a rush to make a bad decision.
