[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Progressive Youth Organisation of (PYO) says A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and Executive Member James Bond are “suffering bouts of political hysteria.”
This comes after the Party would have chided the People’s Progressive Party/Civic for its decision to oppose a partnership between the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC).
Bond told iNews on Thursday that the objection by the PPP/C can only be seen as a “blatant attack on youth involvement” in Guyana’s democracy.
But the PYO in a statement said that it “wishes to out rightly reject statements attributed to A Partnership for National Unity Executive James Bond which seek to suggest that the PYO and ruling People’s Progressive Party are against the involvement of youth in crafting policies for their participation in the democratic process. Bonds’ statements are far from the truth and a sordid attempt by desperate youth leaders within the APNU’s fold to achieve cheap political mileage from peddling misleading propaganda.”
The PYO said that consequent to Bond and the APNU’s vested interest in safeguarding the political agendas of the Guyana National Youth Council which, it is left to believe that the council is“working on their behalf to craft subtle and partisan messages to be sent to the youth electorate.”
This is despite GNYC in a release stating that it does not have ties with any political parties and its members include persons from both the opposition and leading PPP/C.
It was also noted that the GECOM must formally engage a wide cross section of youth bodies and organisations to develop strategies for mobilizing and encouraging youth to participate in the electoral process on May 11, 2015.
“GECOM, if it is interested in its independent image and transparency, cannot afford to enter into piece-meal arrangements with selected groups, which purport to represent the interests of young people, to develop messages that are intended for the entire population of young people who are eligible to vote,” the PYO said.
Chairman of GECOM Dr Steve Surujbally had said that GECOM stands ready to engage any youth organisation, including those that are aligned to political parties.
“Anybody who asks us; if it’s the boy scouts, girls scouts, Muslim youths, Hindu youths, Ghandi youths, whoever. I am tempted to say even the PYO and the GYSM. Anybody who asks us….whoever wants us to speak with them, we will speak,” Dr Surujbally had told iNews.
