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Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman has stated that a constitutional crisis in Guyana could be avoided during the run-up to elections if involvement in the solution is widened to include major stakeholders such as civil society and contesting parties in the 2006 polls.
Trotman described the stage after the due date for the dissolution of Parliament on May 4 as a “period of constitutional unorthodoxy.”
He stated that the AFC accepts that the country has to be governed until general elections are held and, as such, supports the continuance of the current executive at the helm, providing that the executive is prepared to abide by certain conditions.
These conditions include the acceptance that there is no longer a government and opposition but parties contesting the elections.
The PPP/C will be acting as the trustee or custodian of the State and is expected to manage the affairs of the State responsibly.
Trotman said this means not abusing State resources, not suppressing the political fortunes of other political parties and not utilising State resources in select constituencies in a discriminatory manner.
“We believe that the use of all State resources, including but not limited to the State media, should be available to all contesting parties to ensure a level playing field.”
Trotman also suggested that police protection should be provided to candidates of all parties contesting the elections, as what obtains in Jamaica .
Speaking on the current impasse in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) where the opposition-nominated have withdrawn from the Commission, the AFC Chairman said he shared the disappointment of the nation that six competent men cannot ‘get it right'.
He mused that maybe if a female was involved in the process at the GECOM level then elections probably would have been held by the August 4, 2006 constitutionally due date.
“The image of GECOM is of a broken, disjointed, and disunited group made up of individuals, each clinging to narrow political and partisan interests,” he said. “They may all very well be right and they may all very well be wrong but unfortunately the debate as to correctness is past and what we are most interested in is a solution as to how to extricate ourselves from this looming disaster.”
Trotman stated that if no elections are held in the near future, the country will continue to spiral out of control and collapse will hasten.
He pointed out that Guyana is faced with a possible constitutional crisis because GECOM has failed to deliver elections by the August 4 date.
The functioning of the Legislative and Executive branches of the State will proceed into an unprecedented and unwelcome mode of unorthodoxy,” he said.
He noted that such a situation last occurred in 1990 under the Hoyte administration when the PNC used its two-thirds majority to extend the life of Parliament.
The ruling PPP/C has only 51% control of Parliament.
Trotman said every effort should be made to avoid a constitutional crisis.
He noted that President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Robert Corbin have met to begin addressing the problems but he reminded of the track record of talks between the two sides which he said is less than encouraging.
“Once the rules of engagement are accepted that the PPP/C and the PNCR alone cannot be depended upon to pull us back from the brink, then we can begin in earnest to engage in serious negotiations as to the several viable options presenting themselves, including an extension of the life of the incumbent government with conditionalities.”
Trotman underscored his party's position that verification of the 2001 Official List of Electors is a must for the upcoming elections to be conducted in a free and fair manner.
He said GECOM has to identify the form of verification to be used, since house-to-house verification is just one form.
“GECOM needs to deal with the burning issue that the list could be padded and identify the best way to deal with it on elections day to ensure one vote - one person,” he said.
Trotman is of the view that there will not be a total absence of fear surrounding the upcoming elections, in the wake of Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh's assassination and given the fact that there have been disruptions at previous elections.
“It is for the police and the Guyana Defence Force to assure the nation that they could take care of the security concerns,” he said. “We expect that they will be honest with the nation and indicate if they are unable to do so and, if so, seek assistance from the CARICOM security forces in the same way we provided support to others in the time of need.”
Asked about a report that a recent poll conducted by US expert, Dr. Frank Luntz, which shows that AFC could garner 25% of the votes if elections were held now, Trotman offered no comment.
Dr. Luntz is an experienced pollster whose company operates out of the US .
Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the recently commissioned poll showed that the AFC could win the equivalent of 16 seats on Parliament.
This means that the vote in Parliament could split at least three ways, with the PPP/C and the PNCR taking up the majority of the other votes.
Trotman refused to say if he is aware of the poll or who commissioned it.
But he did indicate that the AFC will soon take on board the services of an experienced overseas-based campaign manager. (Andrew Richards)
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