By Tracey Khan – Drakes
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran believes the Opposition is responsible for the non-formation of a coalition Government.
The Former PPP/C Executive Member made this comment on the radio program ‘Hard Talk’, aired on 90.1 FM on Sunday, September 07.
“I put the blame on the Opposition for failing to build a case for a coalition government. I mean, had I been in the Opposition, that is what I would have been talking about every day and put the government under pressure,” Ramkarran said.
Following the combined Opposition’s one seat majority in Parliament after the last elections, Ramkarran thought that the Opposition’s first demand under the new dispensation would have been for the formation of a coalition government.
“It surprised me that the Opposition’s first demand has not been the formation of a coalition government and it has surprised me that the second demand of the Opposition has not been constitutional reform which would avoid the type of crisis we have today…that has really surprised me,” he told the host, Chris Chapwanya.
“The Opposition got a rude awakening when the President refused to assent to their Bills and when he did not have meaningful discourse on the 2014 budget,” Ramkarran lamented.
After the 2011 general elections, Leader of the APNU, David Granger had called on the PPP to abandon its “winner takes all” attitude and embrace inclusive governance.
This is a position that the Opposition still holds firm.
In response, the ruling Party’s General Secretary Clement Rohee had said, “These are good political sound bites which the APNU is now seeking to capitalize on but which in fact are ideas and proposals advanced by the PPP decades ago but were unconditionally rejected by the PNC. This call by Granger is nothing short of shameless hypocrisy.”
Rohee also credited distrust among Political Parties as a reason for the no coalition Government.
1. If I got this one wrong as I do on most occasions, why bother respond? And your response does not even help make Ramkarran’s case. He is urging Ramotar to invite APNU – not the AFC – to coalesce, then lambasting APNU for not doing more on coalescing, when this is all APNU has been doing since 2011.
2. The Constitution does not allow for coalition government after elections, so any coalition has to take place before elections. Coalition is all that APNU has been preaching since 2011, even prioritizing this over taking the fight to the PPP for its plundering and pillaging.
3. I don’t know what important bills the opposition has blocked, because bills that made sense and were justified were passed by the opposition; those with red flags got blocked. The anti-money laundering bill, for example, is useless because the regime refuses to go after money launderers.
well said !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Emile you got it wrong as you do on most occasions. The point is that talks about a coalition government have to flow from both the opposition and the government. They must both want it to happen. If Ramotar makes a move then the opposition must be willing to move too. If not, then the thing will remain one-sided. I am a critic of Ramkarran but in this case he is right. With its one-seat majority the opposition should have been more vociferous for constitutional reform and a coalition government if that is what they wanted. But the opposition spent more energy trying to frustrate the government and block important pieces of legislation from becoming law. Clement Rohee should now go beyond the verbiage as to who was calling for what when and make the move for a coalition government in the next Parliament.
Here we go again with another Ralph Ramkarran cotradiction. Last evening, ING reported Ramotar’s minority government and the Opposition’s one seat majority in the National Assembly created a deadlock in the House that can be broken if there is a coalition government.
“If Mr Ramotar decides today that he is going to negotiate a programme with a view to inviting APNU to join the government, the view of Mr Ramotar will be transformed overnight and Mr Ramotar has the makings of a great President and has the opportunity to write history in Guyana, he has the opportunity to transform Guyana to a different country, all he has to do is take it.”
He believes that the President has the ability to sell this idea to the leadership and lower down in the ranks of the PPP.
Today, ING is reporting Ramkarran as saying the Opposition is responsible for a no-formation of a coalition government! On the one hand, Ramotar must negotiate a program with a view to inviting APNU, and on the other hand, the Opposition is to be blamed for not pressing Ramotar to form a coalition government when that is all Granger seems to know ho to do!
Ramkarran’s brain needs a looooooong vacation!