Minister of Finance Winston Jordan on Sunday called on residents of Kwakwani, Region Ten to vote for the APNU+AFC Coalition noting that the Government cannot afford to lose the March 2020 general and regional elections.
“I ask you today solemnly for this promise because your future and my children’s future and my grandchildren’s future and so forth are wrapped up in the results of the elections post March the 2nd…
“I coined the term ‘Mother of all Elections’ simply because we cannot contemplate losing these elections,” Minister Jordan told the residents during one of the Government’s many outreaches.
Jordan along with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and other officials met with the Kwakwani residents on Sunday last.
He alluded to several small parties which have been formed this year to contest the elections urging the residents to not be fooled.
“Don’t be fooled, this is the silly season, this is the season of party including Soca and FedUp and a nutmeg and all the others that coming,” he said jokingly.
Jordan further said, “You have people who fed up and they tell you they fed up, they got people who went with you and they ain’t get a concession and they form they own party and you got people who went with party who then claim they didn’t want to work because they had to go and mind them children and send them to school and so on, who today is party.”
Change Guyana, a New and United Guyana (ANUG), Federal United (FedUp) and The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) have all declared that they will not coalesce with any of the larger parties.
Minister Jordan does not see the small parties as a threat.
In fact, he said, “I know when the bell rings on nomination day, is then when we line up for the race and we hope all the little ones who got ‘big mouth’, fat talk bout ‘we ain’t coalescing;’ we hope they are there to test their strength with the electorate.”
Jordan also expressed the belief that “they will all disappear before nomination day because they don’t have the strength.”
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Friday last disclosed that 15 parties have so far declared an interest in contesting the next elections. The Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield at a press conference said the date for nominations day has not yet been decided.
On nominations day, it will be decided whether all of the parties qualify to contest the elections, after which GECOM will be able to finalise the procurement of its ballot papers.
Over 650,000 persons are expected to vote in the upcoming polls which has been deemed “the mother of all elections” as the country heads into oil production.
