By Jomo Paul
[www.inewsguyana.com] – With just hours remaining before Guyanese head to the polls, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) is concerned that there might be a reluctance on the part of the two major political Parties to accept the results of the General and Regional Elections where 570,787 persons are registered to cast their ballots.
Chairman of the PSC, Ramesh Persaud raised the concern shortly after a meeting with President Donald Ramotar on Saturday, May 09 at the office of the President.
“We are concerned about Parties willingness to accept the results at the end of the elections…well based on where we sit right now it is not our understanding that both political parties are prepared for a loss,” said Persaud who briefed the media shortly after the meeting with the President.
The PSC has already raised concerns about the rhetoric being used on the campaign trail and Persaud said those concerns still exist given that the politicians have not toned down their rhetoric or deviated from the use of inflammatory statements.
According to Persaud, thus far the Commission is “pleased” with the level of work undertaken by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in preparation for the May 11 polls, effectively reaffirming the PSC’s confidence in GECOM to deliver credible elections.
PSC Vice-Chairman Edward Boyer urged that Guyanese “stay away from the violence” pointing out that after the elections are over, the nation still has to exist.
The Carter Centre has already raised concerns about the acceptance of the results. David Carroll, Director of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program had said that “This election is likely to be very competitive…depending on the quality of the electoral process, there might be reluctance to accept the results. It will be an important test for Guyana and its people.”
He had also pointed out that there is a strong sense that this could be a closely contested election polls. The concerns come even as the APNU+AFC coalition predicts a 62% win in its favour.
If the Elections are run correctly and FAIRLY, there should be no concern of ow the results will be received. Unfortunately there are several things that should be noted here, one, the refusal of Ramotar debating Granger, if he is so sure that the PPP has done a “great” job, he should have been proud to acknowledge it. But truth be told, he knows that he, Jagdeo, Luncheon have raped the country and ignored the welfare of it’s people. The country under the PPP, have become a haven for drug lords and gun runners, and not a safe place for those who may have planned on returning to, after retirement. If the PPP do win, all Guyanese need to call on the UN, to investigate the possibility of them contributing to the harboring of International gun running and Terrorists Cells.