The opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) has expressed concern over President Donald Ramotar’s recent Cabinet appointments. The party’s Presidential Candidate at the 2011 general and regional elections, Khemraj Ramjattan, said this yesterday, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
He explained, “We were very taken aback by the Cabinet choices, because we thought there would have been more changes made.”
Despite this, he noted that he was not entirely surprised with the president’s decision to retain most of the previous ministers, since the recently elected Head of State has always been openly supportive of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, his decisions and policies.
“It’s not surprising … he  (President Ramotar) has always indicated that under the Jagdeo Government, things  were right, so his choices  and the situation is not likely to be any different  than they were before, even though they lost votes at this  year’s elections,”  Ramjattan said.
Though unclear as to what changes would have been acceptable, the party representative suggested that this situation is perhaps part of a bigger agenda to have “snap elections” staged.
He said, “Because of these reasons, we are not very excited about what has happened.”
As to what his expectations are, taking into account the minority government and the fact that the AFC holds the balance of power, Ramjattan expressed the hope that the new parliamentary arrangements will lead to “greater engagement” between the opposition and the minority government.
As for the advantages of this, he said, “Hopefully something greater will emerge for the benefit of the country.”
Last week, the AFC submitted the names of their parliamentary representatives for the seven seats obtained in the National Assembly. These included Moses Nagamootoo, who will be entering the house for the 10th Parliament on the opposition bench, Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman.
New members include Cathy Hughes, Dr. Veersammy Ramaaya, and the AFC Youth Representative, Trevor Williams.
Ramjattan explained that the seventh seat is still to be decided on, but noted that this will be done in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
“We have top quality candidates and we are confident that we will do justice to the constituents who voted for us,” he assured.
The AFC won seven seats in the 65 members National Assembly, which is two more than they gained in 2006. The party gained the most votes in Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni).
APNU has a total of 26 seats and the PPP/C has 32 seats in the National Assembly.