PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has explained that “A high voter turnout will be to the benefit of the PPP/C and it is good for the country too that you have a high voter turnout, the greater the participation the stronger is the democracy.”The Head of State was at the polling station at 9:30 hrs at St John’s College on Waterloo Street, Georgetown, where he made a few comments to local and regional media operatives. He assured Guyanese that regardless of which political party they support, there will be no discrimination after the elections, once his party is returned to Government.

“My most optimistic view is for the PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) to hold 40 seats in the Parliament. I am very, very confident, once the elections are free and fair, the loser should accept defeat, whoever the loser is, which I’m sure wouldn’t be me,” he said, as he continued to answer a question on the issue of shared governance.

The President said his administration has attempted this over the years and established mechanisms including the Standing Committees in the National Assembly to facilitate this, but he felt that the Opposition did not capitalise on the opportunities, especially after the 2011 elections.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that the Opposition have taken the opportunities that have been offered to them in many, many cases. For instance, Mr. Granger is head of the Constitutional Commission in the Parliament; since he entered Parliament in 2011, he had about two meetings in all the time. The fact that the government devolved a lot of its power to the National Assembly, the appointment of Rights Commissions, etc., is really the foundation of having more inclusivity of governance in the country.”

The President disclosed that in his recent meetings with the Observer missions, he expressed the concerns of the PPP/C about unsatisfactory arrangements and hiccups of the last elections. He said that while he was unaware whether the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was able to address all the concerns raised, he did acknowledge that some were being addressed.

Speaking about former President Jimmy Carter’s sudden departure after he arrived at the weekend to head the Carter Centre observer mission, the President said that Carter did indicate he had contracted a virus and “maybe they took him out because they did not want to take chances if he’s having a virus.”
First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar, along with her family, cast their ballots at St. John’s College as she urged Guyanese to come out and vote right. “I urge you [to] come out and vote right, everyone knows what the PPP/C stands for and what the First Lady stands for. I am very confident that the PPP/C will win.”
SAMUEL HINDS
Mr Samuel Hinds and his wife Mrs Yvonne Hinds, cast their votes at about 7:00 hrs at St John’s College. He expressed his appreciation to voters in line for allowing them to vote ahead of them. He related that “as the Assistant Election Agent for Region 6, I will proceed to that area to carry out my assigned duties; I have already received some reports and voting seems to be going smoothly.” Mrs Hinds, responding to what the future holds for the couple, said, “We will be enjoying life.”

ELISABETH HARPER

“I didn’t have any problem, the polling staff were very helpful,” PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper related as she told media operatives that the voting process was seamless. Harper was at the F.E Pollard Primary School on David Street at the crack of dawn, with her Husband Mark Harper and children.

She explained that she is “feeling just as confident as I was feeling all along, cautiously so, it is not over until it is over, but we will remain confident and I remain hopeful that we will have a peaceful election; that’s important for me.”

Harper expressed her predictions “that we will have a transparent election and the PPP/C will come out victorious.”

DR BHARRAT JAGDEO

Former President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo cast his ballot at 13:30 hrs at St John’s College, where he took the opportunity to clear the air on a photograph that went viral on the internet with General Secretary of the PPP/C Mr Clement Rohee holding up his ink-stained middle finger to photographers.
According to Dr Jagdeo, the GS had damaged his index fingernail, so he used his middle finger. “The entire nail was black and blue so they would not allow him to put the ink on that finger, so he had to put it on the middle finger; it’s not a sign of disrespect,” he told reporters.

Responding to reports that chaos erupted at the GECOM polling station at Turning Point Snackette in Tucville, Georgetown, earlier today, where someone reportedly tried to steal a ballot box, the former President said he was puzzled as to why anyone would even attempt such a move. He asked, “Why would anyone want to steal the boxes in broad daylight in an APNU+AFC area?”
Dr Jagdeo related that he is satisfied at the way in which the voting process is progressing, so far, “with the exception of a few polling places, let us hope that it remains that way for the rest of the day, I gather that there are some problems at Belladrum too and I think GECOM has been notified, but let us await the end of the day to see what will happen.”
By Rebecca Ganesh