President Donald Ramotar has sent a clear message to the parliamentary opposition

when he addressed the governing People’s Progressive Party’s current 30th congress Friday. 
At the core of that message is that his administration and party remain firmly committed to the consultative process for good governance of this nation.
However, his administration was NOT prepared to deviate from, or worse, surrender policies and programmes carefully framed in Guyana’s national interest, to non-cooperative and hostile tactics by the two opposition parties, APNU and AFC.
Casting his address virtually in the mould of the PPP’s late revered founder-leader, Dr Cheddi Jagan, President Ramotar gave a clear hint of his government’s preparedness for a snap general election rather than to be held to ransom by an intransigent opposition.             
He catalogued some of the major achievements of varying PPP administrations since the party’s return to state power in 1992 at the first free and fair general elections after almost a quarter century of fraudulent elections and dictatorial, discriminatory governance by the Peoples National Congress (PNC).
The party’s record of achievements could easily and proudly be contrasted with that of the misrule and policies of PNC administrations that had succeeded in reducing Guyana to one of the world’s poorest nations even as that party kept nurturing divisions rather than promoting national unity.
From our perspective, if President Ramotar’s administration is serious about holding a national poll, then it would, of necessity, have to give priority attention to recent disturbing reports that have been circulating about the functioning of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). These reports have raised some misgivings over competence and integrity at varying levels.
The concerns have deepened following separate media interventions by two long-serving Commissioners of GECOM, one a nominee of the PNC, the other a nominee of the PPP.
In the circumstances, there appears to be a credibility problem for GECOM that requires attention by the government and opposition and, of course, involving the Commission’s chairman himself.
For now, we await the final outcome of the PPP’s 30th congress. It was the first without the party’s original historical leadership, dominated by Cheddi and Janet Jagan, and impressively served by others as well whose collective dedication have immensely contributed to Guyana’s economic and social advancement. This remains a work in progress in the face of ongoing APNU/AFC politicking.