I ASK that all take note of the positive repercussion of the reopening of the Claims and Objections period. During the period, some 7,000 took advantage of the opportunity to endure that they be eligible for voting. Yes, this shows clearly that the PPP/C was right in seeking for this to happen, but it also shows the nature of the political opposition. First it shows, and very glaringly too, that the opposition was only interested in its own agenda. Members of the Opposition are not people oriented. They have no human interest concern, and whether or not people are free to exercise their franchise is of little interest to them. I am still befuddled by their excuse that the re-opening was some kind of unfair play. People still had a choice of not registering.
They chose to register instead. Also, these new registrants can abstain if they want to. But at least they are now in the position to do so by choice and not by an act of disenfranchisement.
Secondly, since (according to some of the opposition) the PPP/C were simply not in favour with the populace, then they, the PPP/C, knowing this (according to the opposition again) now have a reason to fear.
These additional registrants can very well vote against them. This again shows how noble the PPP/C really are.
However, in a real way, it shows how confusing and contradictory the opposition really is. They now have a chance to score some more votes, and prior to the reopening exercise, they were objecting.
So, in closing, and in the words of Mr. Donald Ramotar, it shows that the PPP/C’s position on reopening the Claims and Objection period has been authentically vindicated. One must remember that the Alliance for Change (AFC), in parliament, voted against the re-opening of the Claims and Objections period. So this, very clearly, shows that they wanted to disenfranchise more than 7000 persons who had qualified to be on the list.