Public Security Minister and APNU+AFC Prime Ministerial candidate Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday said that the government would not allow the opposition PPP/C to “steal” the March 2 general elections and declared that according to the incumbent coalition’s figures it has won by a slim majority.
“…Based on the SOPs [statement of polls] we have, we have won the elections and the PPP does not want to concede that, although they themselves have those SOPs,” Ramjattan told a press conference at the coalition’s Lamaha Street headquarters.
“It is indeed a small victory margin,” he added, while noting that it is clear that the opposition cannot believe, as has happened in 2011 and 2015, “that the Region Four results as it came in made sure that they were passed at the tape.” He added that the coalition had won the region by as far as “over 52,000” votes.
Ramjattan also said false allegations were being made against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and called for maximum restraint by “everybody.”
“GECOM is the umpire here and we must not feel because we are appealing, appealing at the umpire it necessarily going to raise its fingers…,” he noted.
He said that the coalition feels that at this stage “there is a clear and imminent danger and this thing could explode. The PPP is doing everything to ensure there is an explosion, but we in the government, we in the APNU+AFC, will ask for maximum restraint. That is all that we ask of our supporters and everybody else, including PPP leaders, restraint, restraint.”
Both he and Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes, who joined him at the press conference, made it clear that they are not declaring the results as it is left up to GECOM. Hughes, however, questioned if the coalition should not have stated that it won based on the SOPs in its possession.
“Should we sit down and not say that?” she asked, while pointing out that the first victory celebration was held at PPP/C’s Freedom House headquarters and that it was when their supporters saw this that they headed down to the coalition’s Lamaha Street campaign office to await GECOM’s declaration.
She said that the party has not gone down to GECOM’s office and demanded anything but was awaiting the declaration even as she reiterated the need for persons to stay calm.
