Ramotar urges army to remain professional at upcoming polls

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Presi-dent Donald Ramotar yesterday called on the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to act professionally at the upcoming May 11th polls and to stay away from politics even as he expressed confidence that the PPP/C would be returned to power and this time with a majority in the National Assembly.

“The Guyana Defence Force is an essentially professional and non-partisan entity, your officers and ranks participate in the democratic process and are entitled to vote in accordance to the law but you are not allowed to participate in acts of political propaganda or militancy,” Ramotar warned at the opening of the GDF’s annual officers’ conference.

“You must inspire confidence in citizens and demonstrate to Guyanese and the world that while as an individual in uniform you exercise your democratic right to vote, as members of the GDF, as an institution, you would carry our your professional responsibilities in accordance with the constitution and respect the legitimate outcome of the electoral process,” he continued.

The conference, which started an hour later than scheduled because of the president’s late arrival,