‘Get on board and do what is right’
President Irfaan Ali engaging members of the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday
President Irfaan Ali engaging members of the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday

– President Ali tells Harmon

By Navendra Seoraj
POTENTIAL discussions between President Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, hinge on the Opposition’s ability to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government.

“I cannot hold talks with someone who believes I am illegitimate,” said President Ali while responding to questions from the media at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, on Monday.
Even though the General and Regional Elections were held on March 2, 2020, the country was faced with a five-month impasse due to a slew of legal challenges to the results which were allegedly inflated to give the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition a victory.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), following a recount of the votes, had declared that the PPP/C won the elections after amassing 233,336 votes. The then political opposition, with that victory, unseated the coalition, which received 217,920 votes.

Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon

Even after the declaration of those results, the coalition refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the government, with its leader, Harmon, referring to the government and the President as illegal and illegitimate on several occasions. The coalition has since filed an elections petition.

Harmon, in a recent press statement, had said that the constitution sets no pre-condition for engagement between the two sides.
President Ali, however, maintains that he cannot speak to someone who does not recognise his government as legitimate and legal.

“The Opposition Leader has to understand that he cannot act in the way he acted in the five months when the country was dragged through an undemocratic path…the fact is, we have a legitimately elected government and the Opposition Leader needs to get on board and do what is right morally, ethically and what is right in the interest of country,” said President Ali.
The President was asked if he is willing to set aside those concerns to address national issues, to which he replied: “I have been speaking about issues regarding our country, with the population…I have a duty to speak to the population and that is what I will do…you have a President who is willing and ready to work with all of Guyana.”

President Ali, in his first address as Head of State, assured that he will uphold the oath taken and will work for the best interest of the people of Guyana.
“There is only one future and that requires a united, strong Guyana. That future requires every Guyanese to play a part in building our country and ensuring we leave a better Guyana for the next generation.

“We are in this together. We are not separated by class, by ethnicity, religion or political persuasion. We are united in the true Guyanese spirit,” said President Ali.

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