Tag Archives: elections

New PPP GECOM list: an Ocean’s Eleven of the mostly unfavorable – by GHK Lall

July 10, 2019 – 12:26 am

   by GHK Lall –  Demerara Waves – July 8, 2019

I was hoping for a serious list, not necessarily an entirely new list, but one that offered names holding out some hope that the electoral challenges at hand were viewed through a wider lens. I suppose that, now it is on the record, the best will have to be done with it. And if this is the best that came out of the recent government-opposition consultation, then pessimism has to rule. I share what I think of this list of names.  (See list at the end of this article).

There are couple of decent folks in the mix. Literally. From that eleven, there is only one or two of any authentic caliber; and in whom I would place some degree of trust. Trust is the key word demanded, and which has to emerge from what has to be the dirtiest, most thankless, most unforgiving job in the world.          Continue reading →

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My last word on the CCJ today: Guyanese leaders have failed us all – By GHK Lall

June 25, 2019 – 12:56 pm

My last word on the CCJ today: Guyanese leaders want adda people fuh duh de dutty wuk

Posted by: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves – June 24, 2019 – By GHK Lall

I am ashamed. I am not sure, nor do I care, how many Guyanese I speak for but I am insulted and embarrassed at some of what came through from the CCJ today. Any self-respecting Guyanese, and I am not certain as to how many are still around, should feel the same way. Did matters really have to come to this humiliating state?

From some of the quotes in the Demerara Waves’ coverage titled, “Caribbean Court gives Granger, Jagdeo more time to find consensus on elections date; GECOM says general elections not possible until after Christmas” (June 24), it is clear that Guyanese leaders, and by extension all of the Guyanese people, have been given a public dressing down. It is one that reeks of impatience, disappointment, condescension, and frustration.  Continue reading →

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Guyana: The current voters list is fundamentally flawed – by James McAllister

April 28, 2019 – 12:07 am

Op-Ed: The current voters list should be scrapped

April 25, 2019 – by James McAllister

It is a fact! The voters’ list in Guyana is bloated by at least 30%. The names of over 180,000 dead, missing or non-existent people are included on the voters’ roll.

Of this number, a minimum of 40,000 are the names of dead people. National Census figures, the House-to-House registration of 2008, and Guyana’s vital statistics published by the Bureau of Statistics are important tools for the attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding this voters’ list.

In 2008, GECOM’s House-to-House registration exercise documented a total of 430,000 persons. The 2012 Census recorded a population of 746,955 of which 61% or 455,640 were 18 years or older. Census figures from 1980, 1991, 2002 and 2012 were used as the data for a regression analysis to forecast the 2019 population as approximately 744,000. Assuming 39% of the estimated 2019 population is below 18, then approximately 453,840 are 18 years and over, and eligible to vote.        Continue reading →

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Guyana Politics: Bharrat Jagdeo’s decisions have hurt the PPP – By James McAllister

March 28, 2019 – 10:51 pm

The arrogance and hubris of Bharrat Jagdeo are not working for the PPP

Demerara Waves – March 27, 2019 – By James McAllister

After the No-Confidence Motion (NCM), Jagdeo had hoped pressure from his cohorts in the Private Sector Commission (PSC), and at the Stabroek News would have forced the government to resign. If this had happened, Jagdeo would have nullified a significant amount of the incumbency advantage the government enjoys. In addition, he would have forced election within a period when the government was still absorbing the powerful message its supporters sent during the Local Government Elections (LGE). There would have been no time for adjustment or correction.

However, once there was the combination of the government’s move to the court, and the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) decision to inform the President that elections were not possible before house-to-house registration, he should have adjusted his strategy. Once the issue moved to the courts, impartial observers accepted that the Government was entitled to due process. After all, this was not a case where the PPP won an election and the government was refusing to demit office. This was the case where the dubious vote of a government MP was procured under questionable circumstances.      Continue reading →

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PPP to boycott Parliament until CCJ ruling on no-confidence case

March 26, 2019 – 12:02 am

PPP to boycott parliamentary sittings until CCJ ruling on no-confidence case

Demerara Waves – March 24, 2019

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Sunday announced that it would be boycotting parliamentary sittings until the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules on whether the no-confidence motion was validly passed by Guyana’s National Assembly.

“The General Secretary of the PPP wishes to place on record that the People’ s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C ) will not attend any sitting of the National Assembly, while the Appeal in the no-confidence motion is pending at the Caribbean Court of Justice,” the PPP said on its Facebook page.

The appeal could be filed this week, lawyers said.      Continue reading →

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Guyana Politics: Court of Appeal invalidates No-Confidence Vote; Gov’t stays in Office

March 22, 2019 – 9:39 pm

—Jagdeo tones down call for polling date – Will Appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

Demerara Waves – March 22, 2019 – Comment

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo Friday night appeared to tone down calls for President David Granger to announce an early election date after Guyana’s Court of Appeal ruled that the no-confidence motion was not validly passed.

He, however, said his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would continue to demand that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) be in a state of readiness for  early polls because the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) could soon decide whether Friday’s decision by the Appeal Court that last December’s no-confidence motion needed 34 instead of 33 votes was valid.      Continue reading →

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Guyana Politics: Jagdeo says GECOM, coalition plot to rig elections through updating voters’ list

March 21, 2019 – 12:02 am

By: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves – March 20, 2019   – Comments

Bharrat Jagdeo.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday accused the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of conspiring with the governing coalition to rig the general elections by replacing the current voters’ list through house-to-house registration.

He told a news conference that the PPP would continue to pile pressure on the David Granger-led administration, through peaceful protests and legal action until he calls early general elections. “We will not cease until President Granger respects the constitution and calls early elections,” he said. PPP elections commissioner Sase Gunraj has already noted that house-to-house registration is not a legal requirement.

Jagdeo confirmed that he has held talks with a visiting Carter Centre delegation twice and “they have made certain soundings about a proposal”, but he declined to give details about the engagement with that United States-headquartered non-governmental organisation headed by former US President Jimmy Carter.    Continue reading →

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Carter Centre: Remove overseas-based Guyanese from voters’ list for elections in August

March 21, 2019 – 12:01 am

Carter Centre proposes activating law to remove names of overseas-based Guyanese from voters’ list to facilitate elections in August

By: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves – March 20, 2019 – Comments

Jason Carter of the Carter Centre

The United States’ Carter Centre on Wednesday proposed that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) activates existing legislation to remove the names of overseas-based Guyanese from the voters’ list, a move that could pave the way for General and Regional Elections to be held in August 2019.

“This has surfaced and what the Carter Centre has sought to do is to see how they can work around this to come up with a compromise. Their compromise does not fit neatly into what the law provides for.

They have suggested that a list of non-resident people could be generated and could be used on election day to determine whether anybody came to vote for them so they are attempting to address the essence of the matter, that is, substitute voting,” ruling coalition commissioner Vincent Alexander told reporters.      Continue reading →

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NO ELECTION DATE: Jagdeo-Granger talks ended in stalemate; President to meet GECOM

March 7, 2019 – 12:01 am

Posted by: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves – March 6, 2019 President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo hold meetings, accompanied by their delegations.

President David Granger Wednesday morning maintained that he could not call an election date unless the “independent” Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ready, and he is expected to meet the seven-member body next week.

“GECOM is in charge of elections, not the Executive. I cannot decide when elections will be held,” he said minutes after meeting Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

The Guyanese leader said he would be asking GECOM how much money as well as time it needs to prepare for the conduct of general and regional elections.    Continue reading →

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Guyana Politics – EXPLOITING THE SENTIMENTS OF THE ELECTORATE – By Ralph Ramkarran

January 17, 2019 – 12:38 am

Ralph Ramkarran

SHARED GOVERNANCE

Conversation Tree Blog – January 12, 2019  – by Ralph Ramkarran

In a lengthy article written in 2011 before the general elections of that year, for “Freedom House” on “Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Guyana,” Assistant Professor Joan Mars, of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice of the University of Michigan-Flint, said: “Elections are constitutionally due to be held in 2011.

Calls by the political opposition for shared governance have not been endorsed by the ruling PPP/C administration headed by President Jagdeo; with its consistent absolute majority in parliament, the PPP/C has had little incentive to agree to share power, but the idea may be gathering momentum as a major rallying point in the forthcoming elections.“ Assistant Professor Mars, a former practising lawyer in Guyana, concluded: “The current system of majority rule should be reformed to provide for a power-sharing model that is representative of the ethnic diversity in the population.           Continue reading →

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