PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds says that just as the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had to reach out to a whole new range of persons to successfully contest the 1997 General Elections, “we must reach out to have more citizens casting their votes for the PPP/C at the next elections, whenever it be.”

The Prime Minister was at the time addressing party supporters at the annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Service   at Babu John, Port Mourant, Berbice on Sunday last and suggested that the party must be prepared for the next elections, “whether tomorrow, next year” or if the government runs the full course of the five years in office, “we have to have more people voting for us.”
According to Hinds, “we must keep the faith that more people, even those critical of us, will see how honest and earnest we are and come join with us”.
He posited that such perseverance must be maintained, even as the party continues to struggle with its minority status in Parliament and he reminded that the mandate of the administration cannot be neglected.
Hinds also urged the nation to rest assured that the National Budget which will be presented to the nation this month will be aimed at “continuing the nation’s forward development.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, who featured prominently as Master of Ceremonies for the programme on Sunday, declared that the party is mature enough to learn from mistakes made in contesting the previous elections and said “we will correct it.”
Rohee was adamant that the PPP/C is alive and well today, stressing that “we don’t need open heart surgery as some suggest.”
He said that the proverbial limbs and branches of the party is getting stronger and “able to hold new fruit and bear new fruit and we are growing stronger.”
“We made some errors in the last elections and since then we are taking steps to correct those errors. We are big enough to recognize the mistakes we made and we are big enough to correct the mistakes we made,” asserted Rohee.
He  was adamant that at any point in time the elections is called the party will be ready not just to win but to regain the majority in the National Assembly.
“Not only will we win the Executive Power but a majority in Parliament…that is where we want to regain our strength and we are committed to working towards that”.
Rohee in one of his more fiery moods told the thousands gathered at the Babu John site, “I am telling you that whether elections are held tomorrow or next day the PPP will win the elections again”.
The Home Affairs Minister said that at any new elections, the ruling party will look to ensure that the Parliament of this country is once again a Parliament, where the fundamental and constitutional rights of persons will be upheld.
The position espoused by the Prime Minister and the Home Affairs Minister comes on the heels of a formal complaint lodged by the party that several thousand persons were still experiencing difficulties, particularly with source documents, to register in the current phase being undertaken by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
This was confirmed by Local Government Minister, Ganga Persaud who at the time had informed media operatives that formal complaints were lodged with the Ministry of Home Affairs over what he calls “evidence of  extremely long processing times for source documents at the General Registrar’s Office.”
“The party is concerned that quite a number of persons out there have provided information and documentary evidence to suggest that they have applied for source documents and that the processing time in their judgment seems to be too long.”
In keeping with the National Registration Act, the fourth cycle of Continuous Registration by GECOM began in January last.
Persons who will be 14 years or older by June 30, 2013, and are Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalization, or are citizens from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more are eligible for registration during this registration exercise.

Obligatory
According to GECOM, the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08 makes it obligatory for persons who meet the registration criteria to apply for registration.
Further, it noted that the piece of legislation governing the registration process also provides that persons eligible for registration be prosecuted, fined or even sent to prison for failing or refusing to apply for registration.
Applications for registration can be made at any of the 27 GECOM Permanent Registration Offices across the country or at the relevant Temporary Registration Offices.
There are 49 established Temporary Registration Offices across the 10 administrative regions to make opportunities for registration readily available.
In order to apply for registration, eligible persons must be in possession of the necessary source documents to facilitate the process. The registration exercise, GECOM stated, will come to an end on Saturday, May 18, 2013.