A broad-based Civil Society Forum on Thursday urged Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to seek a meeting with the Guyanese leader to end the almost two-month-old stalemate over the holding of general elections. “The Forum’s position is that there should be some level of compromise and so while the Forum would like to see compliance with the constitution, the Forum is ...
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PPP to remove dual citizen parliamentarians
Guyana’s Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would replace its dual citizen parliamentarians if it has to return to the House for elections-related matters. Jagdeo could not immediately say who would replace the lawmakers, saying the PPP was yet to discuss the matter. The party’s dual citizen lawmakers are Guyanese-Canadian Gail Teixeira, and Guyanese-Americans ...
Read More »Jagdeo wants international sanctions on gov’t if March 19 polling date is missed
Guyana’s Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would return to the National Assembly only to set a definitive date for general elections. “There is no date I have in mind outside of March 19,” he told a news conference. “We will not return to Parliament unless it has to do with a finite date ...
Read More »Dual citizen lawmakers must be replaced when Guyana Parliament meets again
Parliamentarians, who are dual citizens, would first have to be replaced before the National Assembly considers an extension of the 90-day deadline for holding general elections or monies for those polls, a public forum heard Wednesday night. Organised by the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre and held at Red House, the panel discussion on the topic “Is Guyana heading towards a ...
Read More »President, Opposition Leader need to end stalemate over general elections preparations
Former House Speaker, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran Wednesday said the government and the opposition should agree to an election date and pave the way for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to begin polling preparations. “The solution to the problem is to have an agreement with the Leader of the Opposition for a date for elections – maybe an extended date. ...
Read More »GECOM’s Coalition-backed commissioners stayed away from meeting Carter Center officials
The Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) governing Coalition-nominated commissioners stayed away from a meeting of a fact-finding mission from the Carter Center, on the grounds that they first wanted to ensure government had approved of that non-governmental organisation’s visit to the country. Elections Commissioner Vincent Alexander argued that there was precedence even in the case of the United States Agency for ...
Read More »GECOM mulls house-to-house registration vs claims and objections; asks Finance Ministry about using GYD$3 billion for elections
Even as Guyana’s opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-nominated elections commissioners signaled that some progress has been made, their governing Coalition counterparts are adamant that house-to-house registration is the only means to sanitise the voters’ list of dead persons and emigrants. PPP-backed Commissioner Robeson Benn told Demerara Waves Online News that the elections could be held soon with a claims and ...
Read More »Carter Centre team meets GECOM, APNU delegation
The US-based Carter Center has dispatched a fact-finding mission to Guyana at a time when the Government, the Opposition and their election commissioners are at a stalemate over giving the go-ahead to prepare for general elections. Earlier Monday, the Carter Center mission met with the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, James Patterson and the ...
Read More »Attorney General asks Court of Appeal to keep President, Cabinet in office
Guyana’s Attorney General Basil Williams has asked the Court of Appeal to keep President David Granger and his Cabinet in office until a decision is reached on whether to overturn or uphold a High Court ruling that the no-confidence motion was validly passed. Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire in January also refused an application by Williams for a stay of her ...
Read More »Education, ethnic impact statements can address race, ethnicity and wealth gaps
Two US-based political science professors have strongly recommended education and ethnic impact assessments to close wealth gaps among Guyana’s races, and constitutional reform to help Guyana resolve decades-old politically charged differences. However, former President Donald Ramotar of the People’s Progressive Party said Guyana has more of a class rather than a race problem and he instead accused the People’s National ...
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