President lambastes ERC for ‘hiding’ during elections crisis

President Irfaan Ali yesterday stated that he boycotted the National Conversation on improving ethnic relations because the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) “went into hiding” during the five-month electoral crisis and failed to consult his government during the planning of the event.

“Every single stakeholder in Guyana agrees that democracy was under threat but the ERC did not issue a single statement. The ERC went hiding. The ERC has a responsibility to the country to stand up and to recognize when there is wrong. I did not see this from the ERC,” he told reporters at State House following the conferral of silk on three attorneys.

Ali’s contention that the constitutional body did not issue “a single statement” is not accurate as the ERC publicly called for “peace and responsible behavior” on two occasions.