Dear Editor,
Guyanese will once again be required to go to the polls to elect a new government of their choice. This is yet another episode in our post-colonial history in which elections are being held long in advance of the constitutionally due date.
It would be recalled that the PPP was forced to give up two years of its elected mandate in the elections of 1997 even though the party won its largest margin of victory under the Janet Jagan presidential candidacy.
During the elections of 1997 which the PPP won with an overwhelming majority in certified free and fair elections, the PNC took to the streets and refused to accept the verdict of the Guyanese people. The mayhem created by the PNC in the streets of Georgetown forced an intervention of Caricom which brokered the famous Herdmanston Accord in which it was agreed by the parties involved that elections would be held two years ahead of the constitutionally due date.
This time the reduced mandate was triggered by a no-confidence motion against the PPP/C government by the Alliance for Change which was widely expected to receive the backing of the main opposition party in parliament, the APNU.
To avert any such eventuality President Donald Ramotar took the historic decision to prorogue parliament in the hope that some accommodation could be reached with the opposition parties on the way forward. This however turned out to be wishful thinking as the opposition parties insisted that parliament be reconvened as a prior condition for any talks and the first item on the agenda be the no-confidence motion.
Faced with such an untenable situation the President had no alternative but to take the next logical step which was to announce a new date for elections which are now set for May 11, 2015.
The PPP had always been at the receiving end when it comes to an acceptance of the democratic expression of the Guyanese electorate. After the PPP won the October 5 1992 elections, an element in the PNC took to the streets and refused to concede defeat even though the elections were declared free and fair by all local and international observers, including the highly regarded Carter Center. Indeed, were it not for the physical presence of former United States President Jimmy Carter in the country on elections day, the outcome of the poll might have been seriously compromised.
Unlike the PNC, the PPP has always welcomed the presence of local and overseas observers to monitor our elections. President Donald Ramotar has already issued invitations to a number of overseas observer groups to come and monitor our elections on May 11. This is indeed a commendable gesture and speaks to the strong democratic credentials of President Ramotar and his PPP/C administration.
Guyana has come a long way from the days of rigged elections when going to the polls was nothing but a farce. Those were the days when the democratic aspirations of the Guyanese people were thwarted and the true test of popular and electoral support was difficult to accurately gauge.
This is why it is so important for all political parties to show respect for our political culture which is still evolving to one of greater inclusivity and participatory democracy. More importantly, all political parties should play by the democratic rules and avoid that tendency to cry foul when they lose the election, especially when the electoral contest is certified to be free and fair by local and international observers.
This calls for political maturity and a willingness to embrace a political culture in which the sovereignty of the people as reflected in their democratic choices is the only basis for rule.
While it is true that in culturally diverse and plural societies like ours there could be variables that can colour rational choices and influence pre-determined voting behaviour, in the final analysis it is our ability to rise above pettiness and accept the realities of our political and sociological make-up that will be the defining factor in our quest for nationhood.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
