Dear Editor,
There have been four milestone elections in the nation’s history. Primarily, 1953, and the first elections under universal suffrage with a victory for the PPP as it was then, with both Jagan and Burnham at the helm; then there was 1964 as the prelude to independence and the initial try at coalition politics with the combined PNC/UF. Then there was 1992 that marked the return to power of the PPP and the reversal to ethnic politics. Now, in 2015, we see the nation, having taken stock of itself, vote in a majority on instincts alternative to the base that dominates our politics and mentalities in many cases.
The triumph of the APNU+AFC coalition is all the more convincing given the ethnic demographics on paper. Had the voting been strictly along racial lines the PPP may still have prevailed. What the election results demonstrate is that a part of its traditional membership would have declined giving the PPP the reflex vote to which they felt entitled and which they sought to secure by campaign appeals that, in the sunlight of this day, appear all the more demeaning.
The APNU+AFC campaigned on an appeal to a collective mission. That mission includes economic and administrative renewal, but, given the racist tone the campaign took on in some cases, the promise and mission insists on reconciliation in a maturing nation. The coalition win will therefore be remembered for this. It marks the start of a new Guyana.
The instinct to retribution directed at the agents and activists who brought the past government and our people into disrepute rises at this time, and a certain accounting and prosecution is expected of the process of redress. There had been many outrageous acts directed at people or all races. But retribution needs to be measured against the need for reconciliation and we are certain that the current leadership of the coalition is sufficiently sensitive to these issues to exclude impassioned witch-hunting and blind revenge.
The PPP seems to be signalling that it will not go gently into the long night of affliction that some expect to take a punitive cast. It is questioning the integrity of the electoral process. The PNC has done so in the past without affecting the finality of the vote. The PPP is engaged in an exercise of futility and will be ushered off the stage today, its wailing still fresh in our ears, its despairing confusion clear to all.
In terms of a programme, the coalition manifesto has a structured list of projects with priorities and timelines. It will doubtless review some of the works the PPPP started and continue some or scuttle others. An objective analysis of the works past and in hand is expected. With the promise of possibility of PPP people being retained to contribute. It is therefore less of a change of the ethnic guard than it is, as Granger said, an all inclusive government that now succeeds.
Evidently, the start of this cycle of inclusionary government heralds the commencement of a new era in our politics. We owe our future to all those of all races who voted for change.
Yours faithfully,
Abu Bakr
