Dear Editor,
While President Ramotar’s announced election date legally appears be more rhetoric than substance, the fact that the PPP has opted for general elections instead of long overdue local government polls may further reveal the authoritarian mindset at Freedom House.
After the broaching by the AFC of the no-confidence motion, many analysts opined that the President could have forestalled the AFC’s move by agreeing with APNU to hold local government elections (LGE). To obtain local elections, APNU might well have been persuaded to withhold support of the AFC’s motion. After all, APNU’s obvious focus for more than about eighteen months was on LGE. That was not only because LGE are decades overdue, but some say that APNU also strongly preferred LGE to reduce the likelihood of prorogation substantially. Why then would the PPP prefer to risk losing everything at a general election, when it had another option available? The answer may lie in the normally authoritarian nature of the current PPP.
It has been said that the current PPP regime is irredeemably anti-democratic. It has been said, that democratic renewal cannot occur unless the PPP is removed from the executive. The fact that LGE is not an option for the current PPP, proves the thesis. Citizen participation is the very foundation of democratic governance. Decent-ralised power is a cornerstone of democracy. Functional local government bodies facilitate both of the above. That being the case, a dictatorial regime, such as the current PPP, will never allow the people to exercise decision-making power at the community level. Freedom House will forever deny Guyanese their right to self-determination. It follows therefore, that if the PPP wins the next general election, Guyanese will not have local government polls for as long as that party controls the reins of executive power.
The current PPP is unable to change; its officials simply cannot concede control. The constitution has clearly become a plaything to the ruling clique. PPP officials frequently behave as if they are above the law. The PPP regime is beyond salvation, and the situation can certainly worsen.
If Guyanese want to live in freedom, and if citizens desire a return to democracy, there must be regime change. Pro-democracy leaders and supporters alike must therefore work toward that end. If we fail to unseat the PPP dictatorship, government at the local level is a dead concept.
Yours faithfully,
Mark DaCosta
