…analyst says attempt to redo voters’ list is another delay tactic and must not be tolerated
Political commentator Ramon Gaskin said he has taken note of the coalition Government’s posture as it relates to the holding of elections, and based on his analysis of the situation, it will try to do everything within its power to delay one being held in March this year.
Gaskin told Guyana Times International, in an interview on Wednesday, that there was no question whether there should be an election, but the issue has to do with the timeframe for such an election. However, he said there has been recent talk from Government which is pushing to update the voters’ list.
“The elections must be held! You don’t need a new list. We just had elections (Local Government). There is no trouble with that list… So we should go to the polls. I am ready to go and vote… Any attempt to worry with that list would be a delay tactic on the part of Government,” he stated.
Gaskin, a former advisor to late President, Dr Cheddi Jagan, reminded that this delay tactic being employed now by the Government was nothing new to the People’s National Congress (PNC). He recalled that elections were delayed by two years before, when the PNC was in power.
“Desmond Hoyte (late former President) did this in 1990 and delayed elections for two years until 1992. We were supposed to have elections in 1990. He was in office from 1985 until 1992 when United States President Jimmy Carter intervened and encouraged PNC to go to the polls,” he recalled.
The political commentator told this newspaper, “this is PNC behaviour” and unless the Opposition remained focused, this could reoccur. But Gaskin strongly believes that if this is allowed to happen, it could have several negative impacts on the country. “Simple, Guyana cannot afford a repeat of that.”
Gaskin was the first to voice concern over the current political situation in the country, accusing the Government of trying to delay the holding of elections in Guyana within the stipulated 90-day period. He said that it was making strategic moves all aimed at delaying the democratic process.
He said the first move was to challenge the no-confidence resolution that was passed in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018. “Everything that the Government is doing, including going to court, is a delay tactic … it is aimed at delaying the holding of elections. And this meeting between the Chief Whips and the GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) is just another set of delay,” he asserted.
