“WE HAVE 14 days to go!” he began. “Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric,” he said. That was People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C)’s General Secretary, Mr Clement Rohee, as he opened his address to the thousands gathered at the Stewartville Side-Line Dam to rally round the ruling party as E-Day 2015 draws inexorably nearer.
Energised no doubt by the sheer numbers before him, he said: “Rallies are important; and we are grateful for your support, but tomorrow, we must hit the ground running. And every single one of you must go out and transform this energy into the energy that will lead us on May 11 to victory.”
Noting that the task at hand can only be won by “ballots in hand”, he asked: “Are we ready for battle?” The mass cheering which ensued was answer enough, but he couldn’t help taking a dig at the Opposition.
“We don’t need soldiers to surround Donald Ramotar, or ex-police to surround Elisabeth Harper,” he said. “And we will fight this battle with the ballot.”
Warning also that the fight at hand is labour-intensive and very demanding, Rohee said: “This is how it has been since 1953 to now; and we will not give up the struggle; we have always fought the democratic way.”

DISGUISED
Turning his attention to the political opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), which he reminded his audience is really the People’s National Congress (PNC) in disguise, Rohee compared the latter’s track record while in office to that of successive PPP/C administrations, particularly where the strengthening of democracy is concerned. “We did the rebuilding,” Rohee said, adding: “Let us make no mistake in this struggle for the future of Guyana. They say it is time. But time for what? We say it is time to continue rebuilding this country; time for continued progress.”
He also urged PPP/C supporters to be on the alert for any attempt to upset the democratic gains of the country.
“Let us go forward on Election Day to ensure that it is a peaceful elections, and our supporters are the standard bearers of democracy and free and fair elections,” he said. “There have been too many gains made; we cannot lose them.”
Rohee also had a message for the youths in the audience. He said, “I say, you must know your country’s political history and learn about the democratic struggles to bring Guyana to what it is today. There are too many lies, half truths and distortions are being peddled.”
Assuring the thousands at yesterday’s rally that the PPP/C remains committed to moving the country forward, as detailed in Guyana 2.0, the party’s vision for the next five years, Rohee said:
“I want to say to each and every one of you, we in the PPP are committed to moving this country forward.” He also used the opportunity to take a jab at the political opposition, pointing out that theirs “is a plan about a plan.”
“How can they think about taking this country forward? We have a plan we intend to implement,” he taunted.
By the end of his address, he called out to the packed to capacity. “We want all to be involved.” The response was loud cheering.

By Vanessa Narine