Armed with the 2011 general election results, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee yesterday appealed to Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice residents to vote massively for the party saying that the May 11 poll “is too big for us to lose”.
Rohee said that “13,567 persons voted for us in this region. We therefore have a major task ahead of us and the task ahead of us is to keep those 13,000 votes with us, to win back those who voted against us, to bring back those who did not vote for us, who strayed away and also to win over those who have been added to the voters list.”
The party’s general secretary emphasised the importance of the 2015 General Election stating multiple times that a cohesive and a collective effort was required by all supporters. He said “this election is too big for us to lose it. This election is too precious for us to allow ourselves to be thrown back. Every single one of you comrades must bring out your families, must bring out your friends, must even bring out you enemies.”
Rohee stated that “our victory must be so convincing, our victory must be so unquestionable that no one must even question that the PPP has won these elections and we do not want a victory that is narrow, we do not want a victory that is slim, we want a victory that is wide, so wide that the entire world can see.”
He said “comrades it is a major task that we have between now and the tenth of May we need to commit ourselves to work hard every day to win this elections.”
He said that the opposition APNU+AFC Coalition was so “desperate” for power that they were already trying to interfere with the democratic process. Rohee told the crowd of thousands, inclusive of eligible voters and many not yet of age that “we will fight with the ballots in our hand. Each ballot paper is a weapon.”
Keeping with his battlefield metaphors, Rohee stated that every PPP/C supporter was a foot soldier who has the responsibility to “knock on every single door,” for the next week to encourage support for the PPP/C.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo echoed the words of the party’s general secretary stating that the work ahead of the May 11 poll was an uphill battle.
“We still have a lot of work to do. We still have so many things to do but we have a clear vision of where we are taking this country”, Jagdeo told the crowd as he was greeted by a roar of applause.
He called on supporters to increase their grassroots efforts and to not be “lured” by opposition “false promises.”
Jagdeo stated that he was speaking to the converted and persons needed to be leery of the media.
“It is not just about the people who are here with us this evening it is about those who didn’t get a chance to come here, it is about those who are still listening to the lies of the
opposition and believing them. It is about what will happen in the next week, the lies of the Kaieteur News, the lies of the Stabroek News will increase in the last week of elections. They will come up with outrageous stories. They will try to put us on the back foot. You have to understand that we are fighting two oppositions, now some elements of the media and also APNU,” Jagdeo stated.
President Ramotar also laced into the media stating that “one of the reasons that some of the newspapers don’t like us is because they see us as a party standing with the ordinary people.”
Some members of the independent media were restricted from areas which would allow for photos of yesterday’s crowd to be taken.
Ramotar maintained the party’s longstanding strategy of criticising PNC rule stating that APNU could attempt to subvert the electoral process as the PNC did in the past. He said as such, supporters needed to be vigilant at the polling stations.
He called on supporters to watch the opposition to ensure that there were no chances for corrupt election practices.
“We have to ensure that we win back the majority of the parliament we cannot allow them anymore to have any kind of control in the parliament as they had the last time”, Ramotar stated.
He homed in on remarks made by Opposition Leader David Granger, who stated during a recent rally at Bartica that security would be a priority for an APNU+AFC government and there would be no more massacres like the one in the township in 2008. Ramotar stated that “he who calls off the dogs owns the dogs.”
The large crowd was disbanding as Ramotar began his speech and was reduced by a significant amount as he concluded his address.
The PPP/C’s Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper spoke briefly on the party’s stance on women’s rights. She talked about improved resources to women’s healthcare as well the party’s continued commitment to the reduction of maternal deaths.
