LOGISTICAL and administrative preparations have long begun in “earnest” for the professional and transparent management of the impending general and regional elections, according to a statement by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

“The Commission now awaits the announcement by His Excellency, The President, of the date for General and Regional Elections, after meaningful collaboration with GECOM,” said the Commission’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Richard François, in Wednesday’s statement.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the Party is expected to meet with the Commission next week.
“As General Secretary, I will be leading a team to meet with GECOM. We will meet them next week and we will discuss the issues we identified in the letter we sent the Commission, requesting a meeting,” he said in a telephone interview.

OUR OWN ASSESSMENT
Asked about GECOM’s statement of readiness, he noted that the PPP’s meeting with the Commission will serve to solidify this assurance.
“We will do our own assessment of GECOM’s state of readiness, as one of the major stakeholders and one of the major parties that will be contesting the elections,” Rohee said.

Meanwhile, his counterpart in the main Opposition, General Secretary of A Partnership for National Unity, Joseph Harmon, told this newspaper that the Coalition has already met with GECOM and is satisfied that the Commission is ready for general and regional elections.
In a telephone interview, he said, “APNU met GECOM a few weeks ago and we indicated that we were satisfied that systems were in place for a transparent management of elections. We are heartened by their most recent comment.”
According to him, the Commission’s assurance is welcomed as it gives a much needed assurance to the Guyanese people.
“I think we need to give Guyanese the assurance that GECOM is capable of managing fair elections and we need to give the Commission the support it needs,” Harmon said.
On the question of a date for general and regional elections, APNU’s General Secretary contends that the ball is in the President’s court.
“It is the President’ responsibility to set a date. The ball is in the President’s court. GECOM has said it is basically ready. The arrangements are in place now for Mr. Ramotar to name a date,” he said.
While APNU’s General Secretary availed himself to the Guyana Chronicle for an interview, when contacted, the Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, rejected this newspaper’s request for a comment. “I have nothing to say to you people,” he said.
Noteworthy, is the fact that the AFC has been a persistent critic of the Guyana Chronicle, and regularly meets this newspaper’s requests for comments with no small amount of hostility.

EXPECTED SOON
Additionally, an announcement of a date for elections from President Donald Ramotar, who is currently on an official State visit to India, is expected to be made soon.
In early December, he ended the wait of the Guyanese people with the much-anticipated announcement on the way forward to bring an end to the current political impasse – a move to early general and regional elections.
A move by the President to set a date will have a bearing on several processes. Once a date is set, it will translate into to the dissolution of Parliament, which currently still stands suspended under the November prorogation proclamation; political parties will then kick into campaign mode.

GECOM TIMELINES
Also, once a proclamation announcing a date is made by the President to go to general and regional elections, GECOM will have its timelines with which to work with.
The last general and regional elections were held in November 2011.