PPP/C will not indulge in “witch-hunting” – Jagdeo

Now that the way has been cleared for the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to form the next Government, after securing a convincing win at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, General Secretary of that Party, Bharrat Jagdeo, has assured persons employed in the public service that there is no need to worry about job security, as his party would not be engaged in any “witch-hunting” exercise.

“A lot of people (A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change) are spreading fears in their minds…about losing their jobs, but ordinary people don’t have to worry about the PPP, whether they voted for APNU/AFC or not, because we take care of all Guyanese,” Jagdeo told supporters gathered outside the party’s headquarters at Robb Street, Georgetown on Tuesday evening.
However, he pointed out that there are “a few persons at the top level” who will have to face the consequences of their actions.
After the APNU/AFC Coalition had won the 2015 General and Regional Elections by a razor thin majority, it had embarked on a witch-hunting exercise that had seen many senior public officials having their employment terminated on basis of their perceived political allegiance. Several others were charged and placed before the court; however, as a result of lack of evidence, many of those charges have been dismissed.
Senior officials of the PPP/C are assuring that Government will not go this route once the party settles into office. Only a few days ago, the President-elect, Dr Irfaan Ali, had expressed similar views following a meeting with Commissioner of Police, Leslie James.
“We are not in a witch-hunting exercise, let me make that very clear. We are going to act professionally,” Ali had told media operatives outside the Police Headquarters in Eve Leary.
“We are moving forward in this country in building a strong country that is inclusive…a country that is tolerant of different ideas, of different views, and a country in which all Guyanese must be proud.”
The recount exercise show that the PPP/C garnered 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC secured 217,920 votes in the General Elections. In the Regional Elections, the PPP/C also won, with 233,661 votes while APNU/AFC secured 217,055 votes.
This means that the PPP/C secured 33 out of 65 seats in the National Assembly, and the APNU/AFC secured 31. The remaining one seat has been obtained by the joiner party consisting of three of the new parties – A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), and The New Movement (TNM).
For the new parties, the numbers in the General Elections are as follows: A New and United Guyana – 2,313; Change Guyana – 1,953; Liberty and Justice Party – 2,657; People’s Republic Party – 889; The Citizen’s Initiative – 680; The New Movement – 244; and the United Republican Party – 360.
Justice Singh has since directed Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield to prepare a final report using the National Recount results, in keeping with Section 96 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03; thereby paving the way for the official declaration of the Elections Results and the subsequent swearing in of PPP/C’s Dr Irfaan Ali as the ninth Executive President of Guyana.