AFC anticipates smooth, successful elections

Sep 29, 2019 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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H.E. President Granger has announced the date of Guyana’s next National and Regional Elections as advised by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). AFC Party Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, reacted to the President’s announcement and issued this statement:
The Alliance For Change (AFC) welcomes His Excellency President David Arthur Granger’s announcement of March 2nd, 2020 as the date for National and Regional Elections. AFC’s position has been that it wishes to see these Elections held as early as possible, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining public confidence in the process.
The Party remains confident that all constitutional requirements for the holding of these Elections are being followed by the Government.
The next constitutional requirement to be satisfied to ensure that Elections 2020 cannot be successfully challenged is the extension of the Election date by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. As such, we urge the Parliamentary Opposition to give its support for the extension now needed for the set date.
The AFC is also satisfied that within the time-frame, as espoused by GECOM, credible elections can and will be held. The AFC is confident that when elections are held, the APNU+AFC Coalition Government will be returned to office given its stewardship of the Government, having inherited a crippled economy and governance apparatus, (destroyed during) 23 years of a corrupt and bankrupted PPPC administration.
The return of the APNU+AFC coalition to office will ensure the continued rise of the quality of life for all Guyanese people through the sustainable development in our homeland.
YOUTHS ON BOARD
The AFC’s youth arm, Youth For Change, also issued a statement last week:
“With great pleasure, understanding and respect, the Youth For Change welcomes the announcement by H.E President David A. Granger. We reiterate our full confidence in the APNU+AFC government. The YFC takes this opportunity to congratulate and express sincere gratitude to H.E. President David A. Granger and his Cabinet for continuing to abide by the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
The March 2, 2020 election date will give Guyanese people the time to prepare to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Guyana’s Republican status on February 23, 2020.
As representatives of youths of all backgrounds in Guyana, we encourage all Guyanese to vote smartly so we could continue on the paths being laid by this government which ensure that this nation moves smoothly into the social and economic transformation from oil wealth that we have been denied for many decades.
PPP’S EMPTY PROMISES
The PPP has amped up its rhetoric, and has begun the usual ‘dirty tricks’ campaign to confuse citizens, making a series of campaign promises they have no capacity to influence much less keep, e.g. thousands of jobs in Oil?? The media is doing a fine job of informing us about the many training programmes that the foreign oil companies are organizing and conducting for young Guyanese.
The PPP is promising you everything but the moon to confuse you; to convince you that this Government is as corrupt as they were; and to make you forget the viciousness and disrespect they treated you with from the 1990’s to 2015.
Their criticisms lack substance. They fear that their own supporters are smart enough to see right through them and recognise that the PPP is accusing the Coalition of the exact same things that that party is still guilty of. That is a tired, old strategy and it won’t work on Millennials.
Young people believe what makes sense to them, not like the baseless comments in a letter to the Chronicle’s Editor last week. The writer of this letter tried in vain to discredit our Ministers’ contributions to the success of the Coalition Government, among other things.
The AFC’s General Secretary and Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, was moved to respond to this nonsense. The GS wrote:
“We wish to particularly rebuff the libelous accusation that the Minister of Natural Resources was removed from his responsibilities for oil and gas because of allegations of corruption. It is a false and slanderous accusation, which, I am surprised, was elevated to the pages of the Guyana Chronicle without evidence or at least the courtesy of a comment for balance. For the record, the portfolio Minister had written a letter to the President asking to be relieved of the responsibility for oil and gas, which (department) was returned to the Ministry of the Presidency”.
“We do not deny (the writer) his opinion regardless of how ill-informed it is, but the AFC will say without fear of successful contradiction that the Ministries of Public Security, Public Telecommunications, Agriculture, Business, Public Infrastructure as well as the Office of the Prime Minister have been run with Vision and Efficiency, and have contributed significantly to the achievements of the coalition government.
“The AFC is well pleased with its ministers and we are proud of our contributions in both the election of the coalition and the stewardship of the government, after inheriting a crippled economy and governance apparatus, the results of 23 years of a corrupt and bankrupted PPP/C administration.
“The AFC remains committed to the Cummingsburg Accord and its duties and responsibilities contained therein. We will not be derailed, diverted or distracted from our goal which is to ensure the return of the APNU/AFC Coalition to office so that we can continue to raise the quality of life for all Guyanese people through the sustainable development in our homeland.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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