Elections debates…President Ramotar ‘ready to rumble’ but…

Mar 02, 2015 News

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By Abena Rockcliffe
Incumbent President, Donald Ramotar is saying that he is up to the challenge of debating his polices on a public platform in the run-up to general elections slated for May 11. However, the President will not take part in the debate unless it is organized by his campaign team.

This, the President said, is because he has a bad taste left in his mouth from the last debate held during the 2011 elections. That debate was held at the University of Guyana.
During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger had alluded to those very debates. He had said that the debates were organized and all three parties— the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the Alliance For Change (AFC) and APNU—agreed to go through with it.
“But by the second round, President Ramotar disappeared and it was only me and (AFC Leader and 2011 Presidential Candidate) Mr. (Khemraj) Ramjattan,” said Granger.
On Saturday, the President in an interview said that his no show at that debate was due to the fact that it was horribly organized.
He explained that the fact that he could not hear himself during the debates coupled with other glitches caused him to abort the schedule.
But even with that said, Ramotar noted that he is not remotely opposed to having debates.
However, he sought to make it clear that the final decision has to be made by his campaign team.
President Ramotar directed Kaieteur News to speak to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Frank Anthony for his take on the matter as he forms part of the committee. But persistent efforts to contact the Minister proved futile.
The President assured however that “once it is properly organized, I am willing to take part.”
Public debates give politicians an opportunity to confront and logically address the real issues affecting a country.
Even though it has not been very popular in elections in Guyana, it is being hoped that General and Regional Elections slated for May, 11, 2015 will attract such activities.
This will allow Guyanese  the opportunity to see representatives from each of the three main political forces in Guyana on a platform defending their records, policies and putting forward a logistical plan to move Guyana forward.
Moses Nagamootoo of the AFC, which recently joined forces with APNU, had told Kaieteur News that his party is eagerly hoping to debate the incumbent PPP.
He said that the AFC and APNU were hoping that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would put out a schedule of debates “and once that happens, we are ready for them, any time any place.”
However, when contacted yesterday, Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud said that GECOM’s mandate does not allow it to organize debates as that is strictly political.
APNU-AFC Presidential candidate, David Granger told Kaieteur News that he would not give up an opportunity to debate the PPP.
He said, “I am fully prepared to go public to put forward the good plans this alliance has in store for Guyanese”.
The politician told this publication that it’s now up to President Ramotar to decide whether or not he is willing to face the music and “explain the damage he and his predecessor, (Former President Bharrat Jagdeo) inflicted on Guyana…Ramotar has to know if he is willing to appear publicly to defend the policies he implemented over his three-year tenure as President of Guyana.”
The PPP has also committed to public debates.
At a recent press conference, the party’s General Secretary Clement Rohee said that the PPP is ready for any debate and would be willing to publicly defend the party’s record in administrative office.
Guyana has been changing quite a few things on the political scene to match-up with the policies of certain developed countries.
For instance, there have been amendments to the constitution which bars a President from holding office for more than two terms. That was patterned from the United States of America (USA).
Debates are big as well in the USA whenever there are elections.
During Presidential elections in the United States, it has become customary for the main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two largest parties, currently the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) to engage in debates. The topics discussed are often the most controversial issues of the time, and arguably elections have been nearly decided by these debates. Candidate debates are not constitutionally mandated, but it is now considered a de facto election process. The debates are targeted mainly at undecided voters; those who tend not to be partial to any political ideology or party.

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