The Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is questioning the process by which the Alliance for Change (AFC) managed to pull out last minute from almost 10 Local Authority Areas (LAAs).
The AFC on Wednesday announced plans to contest only 38 LAAs at the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) scheduled for November 12.
This announcement follows previous statements made by the party, where they had initially said that the AFC had planned to contest the elections in more than 50 LAAs.
“What is very interesting, is Patterson said that we are not telling you where. So they wrote this down on a piece of paper and they folded this paper carefully and locked it in a safe because like its state secret about which area they are pulling out of” the Party’s General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said during a press briefing on Thursday.
He was making reference to statements made by AFC campaign manager David Patterson on the pulling out of LAAs.
Jagdeo therefore questioned the method used by the AFC to pull out, noting that the reason proffered by Patterson could not be accepted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) since they have printed ballots.
“If they pull out and we don’t know where they are pulling out from, they are going to still be on the ballot, so how will GECOM tread with this?” the opposition leader questioned.
Jagdeo says this issue is not simple and it now leaves more questions than answers.
“If GECOM allows them to pull out now and is making adjustments, then GECOM is complicit because they can’t make adjustments in other PPP areas but they can make adjustments for AFC. And if that is not the case, then GECOM hasn’t accepted it, then it is not a farce?”
The minority party in the coalition Government blamed a number of issues for the decision not to contest more areas, including political bullying and issues with communication.
Patterson said nevertheless, he is satisfied with the position the AFC is in at the moment and they will continue to work hard to prepare for LGE.
