Elections will worsen the divisions in the nation and inflict new wounds OCTOBER 28, 2014 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER LETTERS DEAR EDITOR, The AFC column written by Mr. Dominic Gaskin that was published in Kaieteur News in its October 19th, 2014 Sunday Edition under the caption “The Myth of the PPP-C’s invincibility” gave a clear indication of that party’s political thinking as it relates to the present political situation in the country and what it hopes to achieve by the tabling of its ‘no-confidence’ motion. If the column was intended to silence the critics of the AFC who question the party’s motivation for its no-confidence motion, it has failed to do so. In fact the column has confirmed what many political thinkers had concluded, i.e. that the AFC’s primary concern is its self-interest and not that of the nation. Mr Gaskin in his column stated: “The party will enter its next election campaign in a much stronger position than it did in 2011 and will be targeting a plurality this time around.” What Mr. Gaskin has done here in clear unambiguous language is to state that the AFC is on track to win the next elections, and that above anything else is its ultimate objective. There is nothing wrong with a party wanting to win elections. While I understand the AFC leadership aspirations, I am forced to remind them that given the reality of the political situation in Guyana, the principle issue for political parties in this country and I dare say, particularly the parties in opposition (because I believe they have to confront the problems associated with race with the urgency that the party in government does not feel it is obliged to do) is to resolve the historic political/race conflict in a way that is beneficial to the masses. I wish to underscore this point by pointing out that the AFC’s often stated reluctance to enter into a more cosy relationship with APNU is rooted in the belief that they run the risk of alienating their Indian support base because they will be presumed to be joining with a African dominated party to get rid of an Indian party and government. I will add here (and this information was gleaned from the comments of an AFC Executive Member) that the reason why the no-confidence motion was laid as late as it was had to do with the AFC leadership trying to ascertain the extent of political fallout, in terms of numbers in the East Berbice area, which could very well result from the APNU’s likely support of the motion. I will submit here that party politics driven by the desire to “win” has dominated the political landscape of this nation for the last 60-plus years, and it has done little to reconcile the nation. Our present politics is not normal politics and therefore the present political engagement in the country cannot in the peculiar circumstances of our existence be considered normal. And when an opposition party in these circumstances chooses a course of action which forces the nation to new elections – and does so without the necessary constitutional reforms being in place to end winner take all that party’s leadership cannot avoid critics questioning its national commitment. As the situation now stands it seems that the two parties which are best placed to benefit from early elections are the PPPC and the AFC. The APNU and the nation will be the losers. For the PPPC it opens the door for that party to regain the majority, and for the AFC (if it survives the PPPC’s propaganda onslaught that is directed against it) the possibility of winning one or two more seats at the expense of both the PPPC and APNU. Many political analysts agree that the PPPC will retain the plurality, but not the majority. The basis for this thinking lies in the changed demographics reflected in the last census report. However I am not convinced to that line of argument. I am of the view that if the PPPC is able to get larger numbers of their supporters to the polls than they did in 2011 and in the process, wrest back from the AFC some of the supporters it lost in 2011, and the APNU constituents feel demotivated to the extent that they fail to turn out in sufficiently large numbers, then the ruling party stands the chance of winning the majority. We also have to factor into the election equation the fact that the opposition has not been able to neutralise the PPPC’s rigging of the results. While my sense of what the likely outcome of the elections will be as stated above, I am aware that elections in countries like Guyana, with a history of institutionalised racial voting where the two major parties support comes from different race groups, third parties political fortunes can be short lived. My advice to the AFC leadership is not to take the Indian votes they got in the last elections for granted. Just as they lost significant African votes to the APNU in 2011 they can lose Indian votes to the PPPC in the next election. Given the political reality in Guyana, new elections at this time is playing into the hands of the rulers. This is why I take the position that the No-confidence approach is at best, a high risk political gamble and at worst, political recklessness. Guyana needs a political situation where there are no winners and no losers. Our history has demonstrated that elections have failed to bring about “win win” situations that have benefitted all Guyanese. To end this backwardness is the challenge for all patriots. Let us use the present crisis to do something meaningful for the people. Elections will worsen the divisions in the nation and inflict new wounds. Tacuma Ogunseye
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 06:19:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015