Over 100 People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) members and supporters took to the streets of Kingston, in Georgetown yesterday to protest for the holding of general and regional elections by the three-month deadline set out by the constitution in the wake of the passage of the no-confidence motion against government on December 21st.
PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo said the purpose of the protest, which was held in the vicinity of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) headquarters, was to send a message to the elections body and the government that they “will not tolerate any disrespect for our constitution.”
“The legislature has spoken. The judiciary has now spoken and so, now, we need to start the preparation for elections within the constitutionally due time. We are prepared to ratchet this up as long as it takes to ensure that this government respects the constitution, because this is not about what the government wants or the People’s Progressive Party, what we want, this is about the supreme law of the country. That law has been violated now, consistently so, by this government,” he said.
“This is just the beginning. This was just to send a small signal to what is there to come in the future. If this government thinks that it’s business as usual, clearly it is not and we are not gonna allow them to disrespect our constitution and sit down idly by,” he later added.
The scores of protestors, who were led by Jagdeo, were prevented by police from protesting in front of the GECOM building on High Street, Kingston. Barricades were placed along High Street at the intersections with Lamaha, Cowan and Barrack streets.
The protestors chants included: “What do we want? Elections!”, “Who must respect the constitution? GECOM!”, “What must GECOM do? Hold elections!” and “The clock is ticking, we ain’t tekking tricking.”
Though blocked from protesting in front of GECOM’s building, they moved from the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre to the barricade at Barrack Street and back. The protest ended at the Research Centre, where they heard from Jagdeo, who is also Opposition Leader.
Jagdeo explained that he has been briefed on the documents that the opposition-nominated commissioners have received from the GECOM Secretariat on Monday and said that he believes that it was a clear that the commission is trying to delay the elections. “We have seen the documents and it is clear as daylight that they are trying to delay the elections. We believe the timeline can be compressed to allow for elections within the constitutionally due period,” he said.
Jagdeo added that if elections are not held by March 19th, the government becomes illegal. He said the PPP is not threatening violence but will use constitutional measures to “ratchet up” the pressure on the government.
Among the protestors was former minister Dr Jennifer Westford, who stated that the PPP/C would like to have elections before the voters list expires in April. “We want elections before the list expires in April, ’cause we know that GECOM is ready. They are ready! We know that. They’re just pussyfooting around the place, they’re just making excuses after excuses,” she said.
When PPP/C Member of Parliament Juan Edghill was asked about his thoughts on the proposed date for the elections, Edghill stated, “the constitution says 90 days after the passage of a no-confidence motion an election must be held. If the date is to be extended beyond March 19th, it must have the agreement of [a] two-thirds majority of the National Assembly, which means the opposition [has to agree]. The President cannot act unilaterally. GECOM needs to say if they are under political instructions. It is not up to GECOM to say when they gon’ be ready…. they got to obey the constitution.”
