‘The outcome has to be accepted’ – Prime Minister

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo Friday evening said parliamentary democracy in a sense triumphed with the No Confidence vote that effectively cut short the Government’s time in office.

“The outcome has to be accepted and we want our supporters in particular to understand that we are going back to the polls,” Nagamootoo said at a press conference shortly after the vote in which one of his own party’s Parliamentarians defected and handed the Opposition a win.

A No Confidence vote had never before been held in the history of Guyana.

Mr Nagamootoo sought to portray confidence about fresh polls.

“This is not the end.

“This is just a challenge that we need to deal with and we are back on the ground with them, among them in villages and communities and towns rallying the support once again.

“We want our people to maintain the peace, the good order, the stability of our country, we want nothing to happen in our society that will affect the stability and peace and we want nothing to happen to affect the business community in this particular period that you have a lot of activities in the street.

“We also want to take the opportunity to inform Guyanese that they should go about their business in the usual way,” he stated.

He said the Government remains until elections are called and that the matter will engage the attention of the Government and advisors as to what are the options available and what is the timeline for those options.

“…the constitution says elections within 90 days,” the Prime Minister stated.
Mr Nagamootoo welcomed the process that led to the vote.

“I want to take this opportunity on behalf of the APNU+AFC coalition Government to say that the process in the National Assembly, as you all witnessed, was an open, transparent process.

He said the Government will meet to decide on the status of Mr Persaud, who has told reporters that he will resign from being a member of the National Assembly.

According to the Prime Minister, Government Parliamentarians were informed that the vote was “not an occasion in which a conscience vote will be taken” and he had undertaken to give full support and be in solidarity with the Government side.

“I want to take this opportunity on behalf of the coalition to also say the Guyanese people must understand the democratic process (is) sometimes unpredictable.

“You may have results that you did not plan for.”

On May 11, 2015, the majority of Guyana voted for a Coalition of parties, with the PNC and AFC being the leading parties, to form a new Government.

That vote put the PPP out of power which had been in power since 1992.

Elections were constitutionally due in 2020.