Business slows since campaigning began —Dookhoo appeals for elections to come and go without any uproar
Honorary Secretary to the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo
Honorary Secretary to the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo

PRIVATE Sector Commission (PSC) executive, Ramesh Dookhoo has reported a slowdown in business and expressed hope that the May 11 General and Regional Elections will come and go without any uproar.Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Dookhoo said there has been some hold back in terms of restocking of commercial goods, but pointed out that this has been a normal practice during the election season.

Dookhoo had previously said that election periods have never been good for business.
“My hope is that we have elections, we go past elections, and whoever wins the election is accepted by the entire population,” he told this publication on Thursday.
The elections will be observed by former US President Jimmy Carter, who was here in 1992, when free and fair elections returned to Guyana.
At those elections, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) under Dr. Cheddi Jagan emerged victorious, and has been victorious at every General and Regional Elections since then.
The ruling party however suffered a setback in 2011, winning the presidency but losing the majority in Parliament.
As a consequence, many of its key projects and developmental programmes were challenged and defeated by the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) using their one-seat majority in the House.
The two Opposition parties have since joined forces, forming the APNU+AFC Alliance, to challenge the PPP/C at the upcoming elections.
Both of them have registered their pleasure at the news that Carter will be coming to observe the elections, indicating in another section of the media that they will accept the results as declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Dookhoo told the Guyana Chronicle that the private sector is hoping that the two major political parties keep their word and that order and civility would prevail when the results are announced.
The contestants
The APNU+AFC, the PPP/C; the Independent Party (IP) headed by Mark Benschop; the United Republican Party (URP) led by Vishnu Bandhu; the National Independence Party (NIP) under Attorney-at-Law Sapphier Hussain; and The United Force (TUF) spearheaded by Attorney-at-Law Marissa Nadir, have all been cleared to contest the May 11 polls.
The Organisation for the Victory of the People (OVP) and the Healing the Nation Theocracy Party (HNTP) will also be contesting, but only at the Regional Democratic Council level in Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica).
Dookhoo said the Private Sector Commission is also hoping that whichever party wins the elections, it will strive to have a good working relationship with the political Opposition, so that decisions are made in the best interest of the people.
This he said will help to create an environment that is more conducive for economic growth and for business to thrive, thereby addressing issues such as unemployment, poverty reduction and better standards of living for the citizenry.
With electoral campaigning in full swing, leaders of the business community across the country have reported that while there has been no decline in business, there has not been an increase in business activities either.
The mood now is more of one focused on seeing off the elections as the so-called “silly season” is not conducive to business, since business tends to slow down during this period.
Elections Day is some 22 days away, and leaders in the private sector are hoping that business continues as per normal, and politicians conduct themselves in a responsible manner.
They underscored the importance for broad acceptance of the results, which will be declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), pointing out that it is necessary for a peaceful post-election period, and for Guyana to move forward.

By Tajeram Mohabir

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