PPP Welcomes Bush Comment On Elections

THE Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) says that US President George Bush’s Republic day message is “the most dramatic comment yet by the USA on the electoral process in Guyana.”

In his message President expressed the hope that the impending elections here “will reflect the democratic values shared by both our peoples.”

The PPP says that President Desmond Hoyte’s response to the message was “most misleading.” President Hoyte in his response said both “peoples share the same democratic values” and this has been reflected traditionally and will be in the next elections. The party notes that elections here have been condemned by a number of reputable observers.

A Working People’s Alliance (WPA) spokesperson responding to the recent visit by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Sally Cowal says the party welcomes her “decisive declaration” that the US goal here is free and fair elections.

The WPA says the statement is in line with the trend taken in diplomatic circles. The WPA also says that Ms. Cowal’s statements reaffirm the inter-relation between economic recovery and democratisation.

The spokesperson says that the WPA has intimated this inter-relationship to the government and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and it is reassured “that Western aid donors are coming around to this position.”

Democratic Labour Movement (DLM) General Secretary Wendell Persaud George is calling for the US to insist on free and fair elections “the same way they did in Nicaragua and the same way they are doing in Haiti. George says that the DLM feels that the presence of international observers at the elections is crucial.