Dear Editor,
Let me firstly state categorically that I am not in any way affiliated to any political party, but as the outpouring of felicitations continues to inundate social media and other channels of communication, I too would like to offer my congratulatory message to David Granger and his dynamic team for an exemplary accomplishment; one that came in the face of immense and unrelenting adversity.
I sat in my apartment on foreign soil and followed every infinitesimal detail prior to the election and moments before the declaration of preliminary results, which took an eternity for reasons which are well documented. Nonetheless, the bottlenecks created were not sufficient to deny the rightful winners their hard-fought victory in what was reported by the observers to be a free, fair and transparent process. In the end, good sense prevailed.
However, because I am apathetic about politics, my knowledge about Mr Granger is negligible.
However, for his party to have endorsed and retained him as their presidential candidate for two successive terms, even after defeat the first time, speaks volumes about the respect which he commands among his colleagues.
However, as soon as all formalities have been completed and the new government assumes office, though the task will be humongous, the new government should spare no effort to commence the cleanup campaign. As Guyanese, the time is opportune for us to be supportive and throw our weight behind the new government. There is no time for divisive or vindictive politics. No time for racial slurs, character assassination, defamation of character, talks of redemption, etc. Rest assured that the wrongs inflicted were not confined to one ethnicity as it is being peddled by some individuals bent on reprisals.
This is the dawn of a new era and the reprehensible traits which divided us on ethnic grounds back in the sixties must be obliterated. If we do not make a concerted effort now to foment a behavioural change, then relations with each other will continue to be strained.
In these contemporary days, it is amazing to read the litany of inappropriate comments and profanity hurled by both ethnicities at each other. We cannot judge this new government by the indiscretions of previous leaders. We need to give them a fair chance to transform the image of Guyana. It is time that we look beyond the colour of the skin and texture of the hair and confine our judgment based upon issues.
We do not need to be rocket scientists to see that race-based politics have destroyed Guyana. And it is now time that we change the political culture. We need a culture where we are free to express our views. We should not be apprehensive that if we make any dissenting comments against the administration we would be reprimanded or that there will be serious repercussions. We should not be marginalized or ostracized because our political views differ from those of another. After all, we are all different and there is strength in diversity.
This is the dawn of a new era, an era that I am ebullient about. It is time to reposition ourselves. There is no room any longer for nepotism, cronyism and political malpractices. It is time to restore pride, character, decency and dignity to this nation. Desirable character traits which have sadly eluded us.
Ultimately, I must say that I am oozing with confidence that this new government will lead us successfully. Once again, congratulations are in order to Mr Granger and the other members of the effervescent team. They should savour this moment and God bless them in this journey of restoration.
Yours faithfully,
Raul Khan
