THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) announced Friday that it netted in excess of 35,000 new applicants during its third cycle of registration. But a source close to GECOM told INews Guyana that over 25,000 of these new applicants are from areas that are traditionally People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) strongholds.
This the source said may place the ruling party in a “better position” should there be a snap poll.
The official said that many of the new applicants are persons who should have been registered even before the 2011 elections, however “for some reason or another” they choose not to register.
A PPP executive in an invited comment said Sunday that it may be a case where these persons have realized that their decision not to register and vote in the 2011 polls led to the PPP/C which had a parliamentary majority for its last 20 years in office, loose the majority in the house during last year’s presidential run-off.
“Our supporters realized that because they didn’t vote, the PPP/C while we won the Executive, we lost the majority in Parliament and they (Opposition) is using its one seat majority in the National Assembly to derail development, to derail projects that will benefit the people, so they realize that they made a mistake by not registering to vote in 2011, I think the fact that they are getting registered, is an indication that should there be snap elections, they don’t want the same thing like 2011 to happen again” the official said.
The PPP/C executive said this is an indication that should there be fresh elections; the PPP/C will regain its parliamentary majority.
However the opposition is of the view the PPP/C is losing its grounds among traditional supporters.
An Alliance For Change executive however, told INews Guyana that the PPP/C position that it will win a majority in any snap elections is “pure fantasy”.
The official said while many of the new registrants may be from tradition PPP strongholds, many of them have “jumped ship” and may no longer be PPP supporters.
The official said that recent revelations that there is “mass corruption” in some state agencies, particularly the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited ( NICIL) has “dealt a huge blow” to the PPP/C among its supporters.
“Many PPP/C supporters are upset because of these recent revelations and are rethinking their position and are crossing the floor to the AFC” the official said.
The source said the allegations of major corruption in the PPP/C government has been “widely circulated in the media” and is certainly causing many traditional PPP supporters to “depart those shores”
However PPP officials are maintaining that these claims of corruption by the opposition are mere “political gimmicks to sway PPP supporter” but will not work since the party’s representatives in government can stand tall and prove that those allegations are fabricated.(INEWS)