| The Alliance For Change (AFC) is challenging President Donald Ramotar on his recent comments in another section of the media to provide evidence that the opposition parties were part of manipulating and rigging the recent elections for their benefit.The challenge came from AFC Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, at a press conference yesterday at the Side Walk Café, Middle Street.President Donald Ramotar“This is totally unbecoming of the President and is designed to destabilized the political dispensation that the electorate voted for; it is a slap in the face for all of those who took the time out to vote on polling day 2011,” Ramjattan emphatically said.Adding that the entire electoral process was controlled by the government, Ramjattan said that the police on duty answered to the president. Further, the PPP/C had the greatest numbers of polling agents on elections day. As such the AFC would want to know the reasoning behind the remarks.President Ramotar, in the article,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, accused the Opposition of pursuing a strong “racial” line, of “manipulation” of the elections, and of acting in “bad faith.”“The PPP/C excesses of the past and rampant abuse of power have made it difficult for them to relax their stranglehold on power….and now they see themselves answerable to the people and to confirm with the constitution of Guyana. The AFC calls on the President to apologize to the electorate.”The AFC considers it totally ridiculous that President Ramotar would also point to racial campaigning during the elections. “The electorate knows full well, those who over the years have campaigned on the race card.”Ramjattan also said that personally he was considering asking the AFC party members to break off from the tripartite talks. He also acknowledged that if such was to be implemented, that could further add bitterness to the political climate.“And now knowing in his heart that he is saying that the opposition members are all riggers, these remarks are so repugnant that I personally don’t want to go back and sit with him at the tripartite talks.”AFC executive member Moses Nagamootoo also lambasted President Ramotar’s remarks in the media. He said that Ramotar is the first Presidential candidate since 1992 to lead his party into defeat, which is shown in the loss of the parliamentary majority.“And he has to explain to the supporters of the PPP that he was the guy for whom the electoral process of the PPP were rigged and manipulated by bypassing the members of the PPP. They were not consulted, the congress was degraded and not summoned and he became the presidential candidate and led the party to defeat,” Nagamootoo said.Adding that Ramotar has to create an excuse, Nagamootoo said it is to be asked whether it was the lack of performance by the PPP/C or was it because of the perception of people that Ramotar was not the right man for the Presidency.Underscoring that the PPP/C has suffered declined in votes, Nagamootoo said that this would be noted in the votes the PPP received in 2006 — 220,000 compared to 2011 — 160,000.“Over 50,000 voters which had voted for the PPP withdrew; even if you put the number of seats allocated to that number of votes then the PPP would have won more seats. But the party had an answer in anticipation of the defeat.”In giving an example to show the confusion with the ruling party, Nagamootoo said that on December 3, 2011 in the PPP/C’s party newspaper, “Mirror”, Ramotar claimed that the party had received 52.3 per cent, although GECOM had already made a pronouncement on the results that were made on the elections which did not reflect what the “Mirror” claimed.“Put up or shut up. Show the evidence of rigging…This is a massive divergence from the problems of the people and that is how we see these remarks…This will not only damage the political fabric of this nation, it will damage the ethnic and racial fabric of the nation, perhaps unalterably,” Nagamootoo declared.Adding that one executive member of the PPP in the same Mirror newspapers commended all the observers groups on the authenticity of the polls, Nagamootoo said that the PPP even called some supporters in Berbice, Nemakaram and traitors to the party. |
