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Did Ramotar suggest that elections should be pushed into 2012?
Dear Editor,
When, according to Kaieteur News, Donald Ramotar said “If (December elections) is unavoidable because of the nature of the situation and the time of the situation then we have to have it. I don’t think it is desirable and I myself do not like it…”, I was livid.
Those who care for democracy in this nation are also livid. This country must be livid. GECOM said it is ready for a mid-October election. So what gives Donald Ramotar the gall to suggest a December election?
If the election commission of the country said it was ready for mid-October, why is a presidential candidate suggesting that the election commission is wrong with its date and is casting doubt on its preparedness?
What kind of democracy is this? More critically, when doubt is cast on GECOM in this manner, it enables other parties to cast doubts on the Commission. A statement of this nature by Ramotar can open a can of worms. The Claims and Objections period was finished on August 6, 2011.
A mid-October election gives GECOM and every other political party two months and one week to get their act together. There is absolutely no way GECOM should require until December to get ready for an election.
There is absolutely no reason why an election cannot be held in mid-October. It is dangerous to the very notion of democracy for Donald Ramotar to suggest a December election when GECOM has not even indicated it is incapable of meeting the mid-October deadline.
In fact, GECOM cannot even attempt to say it will not be ready for a mid-October election. For it added 7000 names to an already prepared list of over 450,000 voters. For GECOM to come and attempt to suggest another delay, it will create serious problems.
It will give fodder to opposition parties who may be prepared to claim all manner of malfeasance including electoral fraud after the vote is cast. An election commission has a duty to ensure it does not put itself in a position where all manner of accusations, spurious or not, occur.
What Donald Ramotar is suggesting in that comment is that even if GECOM somehow stunningly announces a December election date, the election should ideally be held after December. In essence, Ramotar’s statement suggests that a 2012 election would possibly be most preferable for the PPP and himself.
This must not and cannot happen. Everyone is watching what the PPP is up to with its extension of Parliament’s life. Delaying the polls is not an option. It must not and should not be allowed to happen.
M. Maxwell
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