The main opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Tuesday continued its picketing campaign to mount pressure on the government to hold local government elections.
Hours before President Donald Ramotar told the nation that he is intent on having the polls run off in the second quarter of 2015, coalition members staged another picketing exercise in front of the Region Six Regional Democratic Council office in New Amsterdam. Though smaller in numbers this time around, the protestors held firm to their belief that regional elections should be held in the immediate future.
“APNU is here again [picketing]. We are demanding that the Government of Guyana, ruled by the PPP/C, set a date for local government elections,” stated the coalition’s Berbice representative, Jevaughn Stephen, who explained that APNU views the elections as “serious business. We are talking about local issues, we want local democracy and this government is against local democracy.”
Elucidating the party’s position, Stephen said, “We are demanding that Mr Ramotar and his colleagues set a date as soon as possible for the holding of local elections. It’s a must, and it must happen. We will not stop until Mr Ramotar sees [the light] and sets a date. We will be here continuously.”
When questioned why APNU appears to be putting more emphasis on the hosting of regional elections rather than supporting the no-confidence motion being brought by the Alliance for Change (AFC) in the National Assembly, Stephen said APNU’s position “is that once that motion comes to parliament we will support no confidence. We are not deterring from it but we had started a campaign for local government elections since last year December and we are simply continuing what we started. If the motion comes to parliament, we will support it 100%. And once that is passed, precedence will go to the general elections and we will support that also. But we are continuing our call for local government elections.”
In announcing his intention to see the local government polls held next year, Ramotar said if the opposition moves forward with its no-confidence motion, he will have no choice but to call general elections, thereby placing regional elections on the back burner once more.
According to Stephen, APNU is of the opinion that corruption is rampant in the country and that one way to begin to eradicate this debilitating plague is to have free and fair regional elections. He questioned, “How can you blame the man at the bottom for corruption when the top is encouraging it?” Making reference to controversial comments made by Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall during a phone conversation with a senior reporter of Kaieteur News, which was made public, Stephen said the remarks were distasteful. “That kind of conduct is totally unacceptable. Ramotar should: one, fire Nandlall and two, set a date for local elections and then progress will start happening in Guyana.”
Compton Grant, who joined in the peaceful picketing exercise, said, “It’s due and the president knows that, and we the people are calling on him, we are asking him to please hear the plea of the people and hold local government elections; we all need it, the country needs it.”
Grant stated that the elections are needed “to put the power into the hands of the people wherever they may be, in all the locales. They must have a say in how things are governed, how things are done in their communities. I hope that they see and hear us; we need to get the message across.”
Barbara Steele, a vendor at the New Amsterdam Market, left her stalls to stand in solidarity with the protestors. According to her, there is “plenty corruption in the country and not enough jobs for the youths, so we all need to campaign for new people to govern us to see if there will be betterment.”
