In the halcyon days when a true socialist lived modestly and the word capitalist carried disparaging overtones, democracy was regarded as the path to political righteousness. But nowadays, when it is virtually impossible to tell a socialist and a capitalist apart, democracy appears to have lost something of its allure. At least for the ruling party, that is.
After Minister Whittaker in the Local Government Ministry had delivered himself two weeks ago of some strange remarks about the people not being ready for local government polls, an echo was heard reverberating from the inner sanctum of Freedom House itself no less. At a press conference held last Tuesday by PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee, the media were informed once again that the people were not ready for local elections, and that “wide consultations” were required because “this was not a matter that can be easily arrived at.”
Wide consultations? With whom one may ask? Since when did the PPP become so insecure about calling an election (in this case a local one which hasn’t been held for twenty years) that it has to ‘consult’ with all and sundry first? And exactly what is this difficulty which makes ‘arriving at’ a decision on a poll such a challenge? It is all very curious.
Well most things have a sub-text in this country, and in this instance that sub-text is not too far to seek. The wisdom on the streets is that the PPP wants general elections, not local government ones. Even Mr Ralph Ramkarran in his column in this newspaper last week was of the view that it was the issue of general elections which was on his former party’s agenda rather than local polls. Certainly the General Secretary was not hesitant about conveying that same impression during his press conference last week. In our Wednesday edition we reported him as saying that in the course of the various consultations across Guyana in relation to the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, people had indicated that action should be taken and that it may be time to go to the polls – ie, general elections. The party was heeding the call, he went on to tell reporters.
It should be mentioned that the governing party has been treating the various “consultations” with “stakeholders” on the Anti-Money Laundering Bill virtually like campaign meetings; at the very least, such encounters are far from being a persuasive tool, and have no hope of contributing anything towards securing the passage of the bill. It is also true that there was a strong suggestion of general elections being in the air during the PPP’s annual observances in memory of Dr Cheddi Jagan earlier this month at Babu John. But there is something else as well.
On Thursday, an eccentric piece appeared in the Guyana Times, that was repeated in the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, to the effect that the combined opposition had commissioned a survey, which found that they would do badly if snap elections were to be held, and that former president Bharrat Jagdeo would be the most “formidable” candidate that they could face. Well this is to introduce an entirely new dimension into the story altogether. Before we come to that, however, it has to be pointed out that both opposition parties over an extended time-frame have been insisting on local government polls, not national ones, something which is reflected in the fact that they used their majority in the House to pass an amendment requiring that the former be held by August 1. It is yet to be seen whether this will be assented to by the President, although given the current direction of the political wind it is unlikely it will be.
It has now been reported in the Kaieteur News that both the AFC and APNU have denied commissioning any poll, but even if they had not done this, the reports would have had little credence on a variety of grounds, but more especially because as nebtuibed earkuerm Mr Jagdeo has been dragged into the report. Even if, for the sake of argument, the opposition had commissioned an opinion poll on general election results, why would they introduce the former president as a potential PPP candidate when this would almost certainly be subject to a constitutional challenge – including by them?
So it seems that not only is there a movement in the party to hold general elections before local ones, but some segment of the PPP – how large, one does not know – seeks the return of Mr Jagdeo for a third term, despite the fact that such a candidacy would, as said above, end up in the courts, possibly all the way to the CCJ. It is simply not known what President Donald Ramotar thinks about having his term of office cut short, or whether he would only be amenable to this on the understanding that he would be the new presidential candidate, but it might be noted that as president, no one in the government or the party can dictate to him when the date of a general election will be; that power resides with him alone.
One wonders too, whether everyone in Freedom House would be happy about a third term for Mr Jagdeo – even if that were possible, which seems unlikely – since they might be harbouring ambitions of their own. Certainly before the President could call an early national election the party would have to agree in principle, at least, on who the presidential candidate would be, and if there are factions where this subject is concerned, that might not be a straightforward matter. In such circumstances, it might take a while for the party to reach the consensus necessary to put it in readiness for a general election.
Be that as it may, at least it is clear why the PPP might be averse to a local poll at this stage. For the purposes of a general election, the mood in the country appears to have tilted away from the opposition, and Freedom House is now tempted to think that it can recover its majority. Where local government is concerned, in contrast, the PPP is likely to experience losses – directly and/or in the form of a very low turn-out. If that happens, the party might consider it would be placed at a severe disadvantage should snap elections be called subsequently, since its unpopularity would have been highlighted in the earlier local poll. If, however, it decides on a local poll, holding, on at the national level until general elections are constitutionally due, and some of the opposition-controlled NDCs and councils perform better than their predecessors in the interval, Freedom House might also believe this would place it at a disadvantage.
In other words, the governing party appears to be playing power games. It is a far cry from its origins, when democracy was its watchword, and for all those years in the wilderness and later when it defined itself as the party of democracy. Part of its received ‘history’ is how it was cheated out of its democratic rights in the 1960s, and that is still recited today with as much fervour as all those decades ago. So has the party come adrift from its ancient moorings? Does its attachment to democracy diminish in circumstances where it might face a loss? Is it subtly amending its received history?
If it isn’t, then it needs to send its party workers out as soon as possible to start educating its constituency about the technicalities of the local government poll so its members are ‘ready.’
