The uncertainty surrounding the date for general elections is putting a damper on the economy while the government campaigns at the expense of parliamentary democracy and scrutiny, Leader of the Opposition coalition David Granger says.
“We do not know when the elections will be called. We believe though that the failure and the delay to do so has the effect of fear and uncertainty and a dampening of the overall atmosphere of the population,” Granger, the leader of the opposition coalition APNU, told Stabroek News. He said people are afraid to invest as due to the uncertainty, businesses do not want to invest their money. Like other citizens, Granger said, he is also wondering what will happen next. He pointed out that the National Assembly has not met for five months to deal with the people’s business and this is a travesty. “The President is stretching the Constitution for the benefit of his party. In the first instance, he wants to give himself as much time as possible to prepare his own party’s election campaign without declaring an official campaign,” he declared.
The opposition leader said that what is happening is that the government is conducting its elections campaign at the expense of parliamentary democracy and scrutiny. There is “serious” campaigning in hinterland regions by the government, he said.
Granger charged that President Donald Ramotar is avoiding having the House scrutinize which is a major role of the National Assembly. So by not recalling Parliament, the government is free to do its own thing and ministers cannot be called upon to give account for their stewardship, he declared. According to the opposition leader, it is a callous and cynical game played by the government to paralyze the Parliament so that the PPP can get ahead with its own election campaign.
The delay in making the announcement for a date for elections is an attempt to catch the opposition “flat-flooted,” he charged.
Granger stressed that it is a very expensive game that government is playing because it stagnates the economy. He noted that during Christmas, businesses complained that consumers were asking about elections and were not spending. The public expects to be treated in a more civil and respectable way, he asserted.
On November 10 last year, President Ramotar prorogued the House to avoid a motion of no-confidence which was to be piloted on the same day by AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo and which was expected to bring down the government and trigger fresh elections.
Ramotar’s government has found little support for prorogation which critics have argued has shut down the legislative branch of government and the forum through which the people’s representatives are heard. The critics say it is also foolhardy for the President to expect dialogue with the opposition when he has ejected them from Parliament and there has been no track record of credible negotiations between the two sides in the last three years.
Last month, amid political deadlock and facing growing criticism over his decision to suspend Parliament, Ramotar announced that he will call general elections but declined to name a date, saying that he will “announce further steps” in this direction early next year. He has not yet named a date for the elections and Parliament remains prorogued.
