On the anniversary of the March 02, 2020 General and Regional Elections, President Dr. Irfaan Ali assured Guyanese of his government’s unflinching effort to serve them and ultimately, build a resilient country.
The President, in an invited comment, acknowledged the support and confidence of Guyanese who voted for his party, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).
He, however, emphasised that the government is focused on serving the entire country through the delivery of projects and programmes promised ahead of the 2020 polls.
“Be assured of this Government’s unflinching efforts in serving every Guyanese. When you elected us you did so knowing we will fulfil our manifesto in service to every Guyanese.
“The full implementation of our manifesto in honour of your support is our utmost priority as we seek to build a country where prosperity is built on sustainability and resilience and growth and development is based on equity, transformative in nature and empowering in results,” President Ali said.
Among the manifesto promises made by the Irfaan Ali-led administration are the provision of 50,000 house lots, the restoration of the ‘Because we care’ cash grant, the removal of numerous onerous taxes and the revitalisation and expansion of several productive sectors.
President Ali and other top government officials have, in the past, highlighted the progress made in delivering on these promises.
Meanwhile, the President also spoke about the importance of participating in the democratic process of elections.
Though only alluding to the threat to democracy following the March 2 elections, the President acknowledged people’s support for him and his party during this time.
Dr. Ali was only declared President on August 2, 2020, five months after Guyanese went to the polls.
A national vote recount showed the PPP winning the elections by over 15,000 votes but the ousted APNU+AFC had refused to accept the results and embarked on a campaign alleging fraud, while attempting to rig the results.
There were also several elections case that reached all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Because of the challenges faced during that period, a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the 2020 elections was convened and will soon present a report on how such challenges can be avoided in future.
Additionally, a constitutional reform process to strengthen the electoral system is set to get underway this year, and criminal charges are being pursued against those who may have been involved in election-rigging.
