Georgetown: President Donald Ramotar said that even though the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) keeps insisting that it is ready for elections, it might very well be more ready for general rather than local government elections. The procedure governing the two elections differs from each other.
The Head of State said that the last time he spoke to an official from GECOM; a period of six months was requested after local government election is called.
Even though this request was inconsistent with the Commission’s declarations of readiness for local government elections, the window period sought then, might not apply for general elections.
With regard to the no-confidence motion against the Government that has been sent to Parliament, the President reaffirmed that his Administration is prepared to deal with the consequences of this development and will make a decision when the time is right. This decision includes the possible calling of elections even before the motion is passed.
When asked about the possibility of talks with the Opposition on the issue of the no confidence Motion, President Ramotar said that, “we have never been adverse or close the door to any talks, clearly the ball is in their court on not only the no confidence motion, but other matters as well. If they want to talk we are ready, in fact, we encourage it and we believe that dialogue is better.”
On August 7, the Alliance For Change (AFC) handed over its no confidence motion against the Government of Guyana to the clerk of the National Assembly. The Motion will be debated when Parliament resumes in October.
The motion is a retaliatory move against the Government after it moved to restore sums that were cut from the 2014 national budget by the combined Opposition earlier this year. Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh subsequently tabled for the House’s approval a $4.5B Statement of Excess
You must be logged in to post a comment.