Guyana's president says postponement of general elections not an option
President Bharrat Jagdeo
by Gordon French
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
E-mail: milldoc2000@yahoo.com
Friday, September 16, 2005
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Guyana's President
Bharrat Jagdeo is optimistic that general elections will be held by the
constitutional deadline of August 2006, despite opposition parties' criticisms
of the pace at which preparatory works are progressing.
President Jagdeo in a statement said,
"Failure to meet the August 2006 constitutional deadline for general elections
in Guyana is not an option and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has to
be ready." The statement came at a press
conference Wednesday before Jagdeo departed to attend the New United Nations
60th Millennium Summit in New York.
Opposition voices, led by the main opposition party, the People's National
Congress/Reform (PNC/R), have been vocal about the system to be used for the
Elections in 2006. The PNC/R has already picketed GECOM'S office on Main
Street, citing that the commission might not be able to make the
constitutional deadline if it proceeds at its current pace.
But President Jagdeo dispelled the concerns.
"I think even at the current pace, the assurances are that they would be
ready, but I think that they can be ready much earlier than approaching that
deadline, if they put more resources into it or if they request more
resources, which would be available from the Government," said the Guyanese
President. Jagdeo also signaled his readiness
to go to the polls. "I don't want to be here based on a fiat of Members
of Parliament or something like that, unless there is popular consensus, we
have to have elections, let's go to Elections," Jagdeo told reporters. "I wish
we had Elections tomorrow," he added.
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