President Donald Ramotar has downplayed talk of calling snap elections as the opposition continues to flex its muscle in the 65-seat National Assembly which it controls.
During an exclusive interview on Monday, President Ramotar told Guyana Times International that he had not given much thought to the whole concept of snap elections at this early stage in the management of the country following the November 28 polls. The president, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic, said snap elections were not dependent solely on the ruling party or him as president, but rather on the political climate in the country and the behaviour of the opposition political parties in the National Assembly which was of significant concern.
“I am ready for cooperation,” he explained, stating that those who continued to spew out rhetoric and talk about snap elections were seeking to do so to score cheap political points and achieve hidden goals and agendas.
Opposition Leader David Granger
“I think there is a lot of speculation going about and those people who seemed tightly engaged in spreading these rumours appear to have no interest in the development of our country and working together for its betterment,” he said.
“I have not thought about that [snap elections] as yet and I have not given it much consideration at this juncture,” he insisted, while declaring that the opposition needs to demonstrate more political maturity in the National Assembly. The head of state said the elections were over and it was time for Guyana to move ahead with the process of nation building.
“We must find ways to work together,” he said, arguing that “the opposition’s unfortunate posture in Parliament” has left a bitter taste in mouths of many rational Guyanese in all levels of society.
“I am not happy with the level of immaturity displayed,” he noted, adding that the recent blockage and non-support of financial papers on supplementary spending by the opposition was “inexplicable”.
AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan
He also expressed concern over the move by the combined opposition to block reimbursements and approval of monies spent on various developmental projects which will transform the future of a significant number of Guyanese.
Trust, mutual respect
President Ramotar was adamant that the PPP/C was willing to broker agreements where needs be with the opposition which are centred on trust, mutual respect, compromise, and the laws of the country.
He was still committed towards engaging the opposition through various mechanisms, but explained that their postures and attitudes will significantly affect the atmosphere of those engagements.
Ramotar said he was a president for all the people and will continue to govern in the interest of all Guyanese, despite the new dispensation which saw government receiving a minority in the National Assembly. The PPP/C, he noted, continues to be open to working with the opposition but will not do so if it is being held ransom to the whims and fancies of the combined political parties, especially in the National Assembly.
No fear
Opposition Leader David Granger had said that he is not afraid of government calling a new election, and had expressed confidence in contesting new polls, since he does not believe that the vote-costing attitude of the government has changed for the better. “I am not afraid. I am not afraid of anything the government will do,” he said when asked about the possibility of new elections at a news conference in December.
He had said that the opposition wanted the new dispensation to work and were open to the concepts of consensus and compromise, but were cognisant that there could possibly be breakdowns.
The Alliance For Change over the weekend held a strategy session at the Ocean View International Hotel, Liliendaal, and discussed, among other things, snap elections.
The strategy session was held to develop a plan and programme to consolidate on the gains made at the 2011 General and Regional Elections, and to focus on the party’s strategy and activities over the next two years in anticipation of snap elections or local government elections.
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