THE Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) has “every confidence” in President Donald Ramotar and his Administration’s ability to resolve the issues plaguing the local political sphere, primarily by way of a return to the polls.

The foregoing assurance came from none other than visiting e UNASUR Secretary-General, Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, who made the observation yesterday during a press beefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in the city.
According to Dr Samper, the November 10 prorogation of Parliament, as well as the President’s announcement that Guyana will move to early General and Regional elections were among several issues discussed at a meeting he held with the Head of State yesterday morning.
He said that based on the discussions he’s had with President Ramotar, he is confident that a date for General and Regional elections will be named soon. True to prediction, President Ramotar did make the announcement last evening. May 11 is the date he gave.
The President has already asked UNASUR, during his meeting yesterday with the bloc’s Secretary-General, to ready an Observer Mission for the upcoming elections.
The move to early elections was as a result of the Administration’s failure to achieve the objective it sought by proroguing Parliament and opting instead to have dialogue, in the face of the Opposition’s no-confidence motion against the Government.

Given the posture taken by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), President Ramotar has always maintained that the need for dialogue was uppermost in his mind when he made the decision to prorogue Parliament on November 10.
Paving the way for greater dialogue among political parties, he contended, would have kept the 10th Parliament alive to address critically important issues currently before the House.
The effect of ending the first session of the 10th Parliament by way of prorogation is the suspension of the business of the National Assembly. As a result of that move, the AFC-brokered ‘No Confidence’ Motion was not considered. Also, APNU had, prior to November 10, signalled its intention to support the Motion.
Had it not been for the proclamation to prorogue Parliament, if the no-confidence motion had been approved by the political Opposition, Guyana would have been headed to early general elections within three months. However, President Ramotar has made it clear that if these efforts prove futile, there will be a move to early general elections.
Since the prorogation, APNU and the AFC have made it clear that they will not engage the President in talks unless the prorogation is lifted and Parliamentary work resumes. The rejection of talks was also formally communicated by APNU Leader Brigadier (rtd) David Granger in a December 2 letter responding to the President’s November 18 invitation for talks.
As a result, the Head of State indicated, early last December, that Guyana will head to early general and regional elections, just over three years since the November 2011 polls.

(By Vanessa Narine)