Jagdeo says PPP will conduct clean election campaign

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo has promised that his party will run a clean election campaign to win the confidence of Guyanese.

At his weekly press conference today, Mr. Jagdeo said he recently met with officials of the Private Sector Commission, who raised some concerns about the upcoming elections. He said the PSC members said they were concerned about instability in the country and the impact it could have on their businesses.

“I assured them that the Government, is going to address the question of security robustly to ensure that the people of this country, they can exercise their constitutional right to select a Government freely and fairly in a manner that will not lead them to be intimidated or causing to suppress their votes,” Mr. Jagdeo told a new conference today.

The Vice President said concerns were also raised about divisive rhetoric that usually pops up during an election year and its potentional to cause polarization. He said he assured the members of the Private Sector that people’s race, religion, their gender and age are not factors that will be used in a divisive way in the campaign by the People’s Progressive Party.

But the Vice President also said that the doubt the Opposition continues to cast on the Elections Commission and its preparedness remains a concern.

He said that the recent Court action filed by the Opposition to force a new round of registration to sanitize the list, could create conditions and set the stage to cancel or affect the conduct of the elections.

He said the PPP wants elections on time and will not be falling for any trap. Mr. Jagdeo said the Elections Commission must ensure all of its decisions are in keeping with the law.

“We want elections on time, we want GECOM to act in an open, transparent, lawful manner. We want all the citizens of this country to choose their government freely in a secured environment and we at least, in the PPP, intend to campaign on our track record and fulfilment of our promises, not by dividing people,” Mr. Jagdeo told a news conference today.

As it relates to the opposition’s calls for biometrics and a clean voter’s list, Jagdeo said those matters have already been canvassed and decided upon.

“So, the biometrics matter to prevent to prevent voting or to vote has already been decided by the Courts a long time ago, by the person who is now chairing GECOM and ruled illegal in past. So, on those grounds, on biometrics and on the quality of the voter’s list of so-called padding on the voter’s list, we have deal extensively with that and we have said we don’t want GECOM to do what PPP wants we want GECOM to act lawfully and in accordance with the constitution of Guyana,” Mr. Jagdeo noted.

The Guyana Elections Commission is still to make a definitive decision on the use of biometrics at the place of poll. The Commission has said some laws may have to be amended and that is out of its hands.