PHANTOM VOTES

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 7th March 2020, 9:00 pm

Section 84 of the Representation of the People Act is quite clear. It requires the Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, in the presence of persons entitled to be present, to “ascertain the total votes cast in favour of each list in the district by adding up the votes recorded in favour of the list in accordance with the Statements of Poll, and thereupon publicly declare the votes recorded for each list of candidates.” This procedure to “ascertain the total votes cast” for Region 4 “in accordance with the Statements of Poll” was not followed but the Returning Officer declared phantom votes anyway, which showed the APNU+AFC winning the elections by about 7,000 of the said phantom votes. Statements of Poll for Region 4, signed by Presiding Officers, released by the Leader of the Opposition are claimed to show that the PPP won the elections by some 17,000 votes.

Continue reading “PHANTOM VOTES”

FREE, FAIR AND PEACEFUL ELECTIONS

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 29th February 2020, 9:00 pm

Some foreign observers are unaware of Guyana’s electoral history. One wonders whether such observers are qualified to observe Guyana’s elections. They would not know, for example, that by itself, this history creates a perpetual tension at election time because of general fears of a repeat of election rigging. They would not know also that this is why after twenty-eight years since 1992, Guyana’s first free and fair elections after a generation, Guyana still requires election observers. The suspicion created by this history has resulted in allegations by the PNC and PNCR that the elections of 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2006, which they lost, were rigged against them. And not to be outdone, the PPP claimed that the elections of 2015, which it lost to APNU+AFC by some 5,000 votes, were rigged against it. These elections were all found to be free and fair by foreign observers.

Continue reading “FREE, FAIR AND PEACEFUL ELECTIONS”

IS A NEW GUYANA IN THE MAKING?

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 22nd February 2020, 9:00 pm

During the 2011 election campaign, the PPP/C held the view that it would obtain the support of up to 60 percent of the electorate. The PPP/C was indoctrinated into false expectations by what appeared to be the adoring crowds that attended events of then President Jagdeo since 1999, even in APNU/PNCR areas of support, inspired at times by President Jagdeo delivering goodies extracted from his back pocket, which he released to the residents with political flourish.

Continue reading “IS A NEW GUYANA IN THE MAKING?”

ONE SMALL STEP IN GUYANA’S POLITICS CAN LEAD TO A GIANT LEAP FOR ITS FUTURE

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 15th February 2020, 9:00 pm

The three political parties that invoked section 22 of the Representation of the People Act (the Act) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Friday setting out the principles on which both their pre- and post-election cooperation will be based. The invocation of section 22, for the first time in Guyana’s electoral history, is one small step which can lead to a giant leap for Guyana’s future. The joinder of lists by the three political parties, A New and United Guyana (ANUG), the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM), under section 22 has now led to the unprecedented step of the signing of an MOU for political cooperation among the political parties which have joined together to form the combination of lists, an event among competing political parties that has never hitherto occurred in Guyana.

Continue reading “ONE SMALL STEP IN GUYANA’S POLITICS CAN LEAD TO A GIANT LEAP FOR ITS FUTURE”

SAD TO SAY

Written by Ralph Ramkarran
Saturday, 8th February 2020, 9:00 pm

It is sad to say that the Global Witness report, “Signed Away,” analyzing EEPGL’s (the ExxonMobil controlled Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited) agreement with Guyana and the damning circumstances leading up to its signing, will not influence the vote of more than a handful of people, if so many, at the elections on March 2. The report’s main conclusion is that: “Evidence….suggests that Guyana got a bad deal because it may not have been well represented in subsequent negotiations by Minister Raphael Trotman and his team.” The report suggests that “Trotman presented Exxon with feeble negotiation terms and ignored expert advice that more financial information was needed before he signed the licence.”

Continue reading “SAD TO SAY”
The Conversation Tree is both physical and philosophical. The physical is the tree itself, which has given its name to the road from which it originates at the intersection of the Rupert Craig Highway. It was reputedly first planted by Napleton William King in 1876 to celebrate the birth of his son Napleton Walter. As...
Read More

Recent Posts

Other Posts