Up to yesterday, Leader of the Opposition David Granger had not received additional word from President Donald Ramotar on his letter asking for the setting of a date for local government elections.
“This is not something that can be bargained away,” Granger told Stabroek News yesterday even as he said that should no response be received by today, then he will be meeting with his team and partners to discuss the next steps.
On Tuesday, Granger called on Ramotar to name a date by today for long-stalled local government elections otherwise national and international support would be galvanized in defence of democracy. Granger’s call was contained in a letter to the President and ups the ante on local government polls. The PPP/C government has come under severe criticism for not calling local government elections which have not been held since 1994.
In his letter, Granger reminded that the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill which was passed on February 10th this year directed that elections be held on or before 1st August 2014. The government did not support this bill and wanted the deadline extended to December 31st, 2014. The bill was not assented to by Ramotar neither was a new bill brought to cover the expiration of the August 1st deadline.
Granger called on Ramotar to, on or before Monday September 15, 2014, announce the date for local government elections to be held countrywide.
“We wish to advise that, failing an announcement by you that local government elections will be held and that these legitimate democratic conditions are met, we shall be obliged to take any lawful action to mobilise national and international support in defence of local democracy, the Constitution and the rights of the Guyanese people,” Granger had warned.
Ramotar subsequently wrote to Granger seeking clarification saying that the position represented in the opposition leader’s letter and the positions expressed by APNU after his receipt of Granger’s letter are both ambiguous and contradictory. “In the circumstances, before I can properly respond to your letter, I wish for you to clarify what precisely is your Party’s position,” Ramotar wrote.
The President’s statement about ambiguity revolves around the view that the call for local government elections by the Opposition Leader conflicts with the planned opposition motion of no-confidence against the Ramotar administration which if passed will lead to early general elections.
Granger has said that there is no contradiction between the two and yesterday he told Stabroek News that he did not respond to that letter because there is nothing to clarify. “The 15th is the 15th, an announcement is an announcement,” he said.
He declined to disclose at this point how APNU would galvanise national and international support. He said that he would have to consult with the PNCR’s Central Executive Committee and his partners in APNU. “We are not going to put up with this lawlessness,” Granger asserted noting that local government elections have been overdue for 17 years. He declared that this is not something that can be bargained away.
“His (the President’s) answer to me suggests that he does not understand the constitutional breach that has occurred,” Granger declared. He said that they are not begging for local government elections as it is a Constitutional right.
The PPP/C government has withheld local government polls for the last year or so without providing consistent and clear reasoning. Analysts have argued that the PPP/C is unwilling to risk a heavy defeat at local government polls prior to general elections.
Observers say, Granger’s ultimatum piles further pressure on Ramotar and is a bid by APNU to inhabit some of the spotlight in the wake of the AFC-led motion of no-confidence. However, when today’s deadline expires without a suitable response from Ramotar then the onus would be on APNU to up the ante.
Observers say that if Ramotar was to name a date for local government elections as many stakeholders have been clamouring for, it would have an impact on any early elections. The motion of no-confidence might have to be withheld until local government polls are held. This in itself, observers say, would not dissuade the opposition from eventually moving ahead with the motion of no-confidence. However, this scenario is unlikely as the observers say the PPP/C government is irreversibly set against local government elections before general elections.
In the meanwhile, the government still has to bring a bill to officially postpone local government elections as the bill to facilitate this was not assented to by the President.
