THE General Secretary, Mr. Clement Rohee has declared that his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is not to blame for the much delayed local government elections.
Speaking at his Monday press conference in Freedom House on Robb Street, Georgetown, he demanded that critics be cognisant of the historical context surrounding the process, rather than continue to peddle a “blanket”position.“This blanket position that the PPP has not held local government elections for all these years is false. It is false and that is a historical fact.”
Rohee pointed out that it is a PPP Administration which was the first to push for the hosting of local government elections.
“The PPP is not responsible for not holding elections. The PPP was the first to call for local government elections a couple years after we got into office in 1992. We did that, but a series of things were initiated, constitutional reform and so many other things that led to where we are today,” he said.
Absolutely quintessential
Rohee explained that it is absolutely quintessential for critics to “go back to the annals of history” to understand why it has taken local government elections such a long time to be held in Guyana.
He went on: “It is as if there was no history in relation to the sloth and the non-holding of the elections to the day. There is a reason and it is not because the PPP has maintained that no local government elections will be held. There is a history that is documented in every single newspaper and in the records of the Parliament.
“Before anyone concludes that these elections are overdue because it has not been held for so many years, without analysing why it has not been held and who is responsible, they have to understand the historical context. Unless we understand the context we are going to be barking up the wrong tree.”
The Home Affairs Minister said the ruling party is not opposed to calling elections, which will be called when the Government “sees it necessary” to do so.
“The question is whether the situation is right,” Rohee insisted.
He underscored the fact that, while local government elections are important, the concerns of many Guyanese revolve around the “big ticket issue” such as the impacts of the non-passage of the critically important Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill.
“People are concerned about local government elections, but they are more emphatically concerned about the big ticket issues…they ask if local government elections will solve the anti-money laundering and blacklisting issues,” he argued.
Last week, Rohee stated that initiating the local government elections process is a “political judgement” call dependent on the mood of the Guyanese people.
Two elections
This view was reiterated on Monday when he stated that there is a growing mood in that direction for either of the two elections.
The National Assembly passed the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill 2013, which states that those polls must be held on or before August 1, 2014.The August date was put in an amendment to the Bill, proposed by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), while the House was in Committee. However, the President has not assented to the Bill.
Additionally, the General Secretary pointed out that the position of the party and the Government has been the same on the matter of calling local government elections.
“We have a coherent position on the timing of calling these elections,” Rohee insisted.
President Donald Ramotar, last Saturday, stated that his Administration is not opposed to calling local government elections but hinted that the commencement order for that, as well as general elections, could be based on the impacts from the ruling of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), on May 28, pronounced on Guyana’s failure to address deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.
Through a missive to its members, CFATF effectively blacklisted this country on the international scene when it referred Guyana to the FATF.
The Head of Government, speaking during a press conference at State House, said: “I don’t know what will happen if the impact of this anti-money laundering bill hits home very, very hard on our economy and whether we might have to go back and have another mandate.”
He added that, as Head of State, he cannot close his eyes to the political reality that obtains as the current state of affairs.
Mr. Ramotar said: “I would prefer to go to Local Government Elections but I cannot shut my eyes to the political reality that exists and make a bland promise that I would go to Local Government Elections tomorrow, as I would have done had we had the majority in the Parliament at this point in time and we would not have been in the position that we are in today.”
Local government elections were not held in Guyana since 1994. Prior to that, they were last conducted in 1970. Subsequent to 1994, the elections could not be conducted because of the coincidence with the general and regional elections of 1997.

Pull quote:
“This blanket position that the PPP has not held local government elections for all these years is false.” – PPP General-Secretary, Clement Rohee