With no response from the President to his request for the naming of a date for local government polls, Leader of the Opposition David Granger was yesterday unprepared to give specifics on his next course of action.
“There will be no fireworks in the sky tomorrow… my aim is not to astonish the public. It is to get President Donald Ramotar to fulfil his constitutional obligation in holding local government elections,” Granger said.
A week ago, by way of a letter, Granger issued an ultimatum to Ramotar, calling on him to identify a date by yesterday for the long-delayed local government elections, while saying otherwise national and international support would be galvanised in defence of democracy.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Granger could not state what exactly the ultimatum meant. Since he issued it, it has been unclear whether stakeholders both locally and internationally had been mobilised to act if the President failed to respond and what form of action this would entail. Stabroek News asked Granger if he or main opposition APNU, of which he is the Chairman, was ready for criticism that could follow for failing to deliver on its promise to galvanise support in an attempt to pressure the President into setting a date for local government elections. He was also asked why the ultimatum was issued if the APNU was not prepared deliver. Granger stated that the ultimatum was not a publicity stunt but he could not clearly or concisely say what the trajectory of the ultimatum was in the light of no response from the government.
As the deadline loomed yesterday, it was becoming more apparent that the President would be taking no action in relation to Granger’s demand. During a press briefing yesterday at Freedom House, PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee stated matter-of-factly that “we have until 12 midnight tonight.”
He added, “I think everybody is waiting to see, you know, the manifestations of this; how this deadline will play out both locally and internationally.”
Speaking to the Stabroek News just hours before the deadline expired, Granger was still unable to say what exactly would happen today should Ramotar decide to ignore the call to set a date for local government elections. He did say that should the deadline pass without a response from the President, then APNU will need to discuss the way forward. When asked how involved are the international stakeholders in the coalition’s plans, Granger spoke about ongoing talks with members of the Diaspora, while noting that today “we will continue our work.”
He said that the goal was to ensure that Ramotar followed through on his constitutional mandate, which APNU has been pressing for since February. This publication asked Granger how effective the political pressure has been considering the lack of progress and he said that APNU has taken a position.
Granger’s letter to the President was in the light of the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill, which was passed in February this year and directed that elections be held on or before August 1, 2014. The government did not support this bill and wanted the deadline extended to December 31, 2014. The bill was not assented to by Ramotar neither was a new bill brought to cover the expiration of the August 1 deadline.
