Dear Editor,
The Current Election Campaign Season easily attracts robust debates amongst your numerous correspondents and frequent, almost professional, letter writers. Many of them are entitled to our democratic culture and rights to express strongly-held views, either in support of or in opposition to other persons’ positions of a political nature. Indeed, very many attached in some manner to the current administration, including those who allowed themselves to experience relatively-recent post-2015 political epiphanies, have vested personal interest to secure, to defend, to sustain. But I’m “retired and relatively tired,” existing on pensions and private legal/legitimate opportunities to get nearer to age eighty. Without fawning to any political leader. Especially any leader worthy of valid objective criticism and scrutiny
The foregoing somewhat overloaded paragraph is mere context within which to situate my response to Tacuma Ogunseye’s correspondence to you published as `I stand by President Granger’s assurance…’ (SN on 27 Jan 2020) even though I still won’t be given to frequent letter writing to editors. And although I can appreciate the lower art/technique of personalized ad hominem attacks Mr/Brother Qgunseye did succeed in upsetting me for a few minutes when he described me as being “a PPP lackey.”
Just imagine that this remnant voice of the once-noble alliance that was the WPA, now seemingly an opportunistic convert accusing me of being one of the PPP’s “lackeys”. I happen to know that Dr/Comrade General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo does not appreciate most of my views. Including his dumb choice of Irfaan Ali. And I care not. I was once PNC member, supporter then elections operative when Ogunseye and his WPA were allegedly stockpiling arms and burning down PNC government buildings. Never PNC “lackey” either.
I want to stick to the major issue and not personality but will still mention that even one time anti-PNC revolutionaries have to eat and exist compliments of His Excellency’s attractive salaried opportunities.
So Mr/Bro Ogunseye’s “standing in the corner of President David Granger” is understandable even as both fair-minded and cynical citizen harbour doubts about the Brigadier’s “assurance” about “free , fair and credible” elections early March. Apart from His Excellency sounding as if he is the GECOM Chairperson, how many of his earlier “assurances” about sundry matters have not been subject to whim and unfulfilled expectations?
The problem with this Season’s spokespersons and defenders is that, as surrogates for survival they brook no valid criticism whatsoever. For views based on principle, reasonable deduction or prior evidence, not to their liking, they quickly affix labels unto the critic. The President’s attitude to the Constitution, his PNC chairperson’s “Ballot Box instructions” have all evoked spirited response from a cross-section of society many non-loyalist and non-tribal. Not just from A. A. Fenty the alleged “PPP Lackey”. However, one view I have about Chairperson’s Volda’s call is that it is one type of pre-emptive technique to indicate to the “strangers” that the coalition’s election opponents principally the PPP – would entertain thoughts of ballot (box) tampering at the close of polling. Not the APNU!
Perhaps WPA Partnership/Coalition spokesperson, SARA official Bro Ogunseye could identify the polling stations at risk from non- coalition activists. Black Bush Polder? Canal No 2? Enmore? Aishalton? Amelia’s Ward? Buxton? Albouystown or Sophia?
To its eternal credit the Granger “Partnership” and “coalition” did restore local government elections which GECOM – with all its short-comings – managed reasonably well. But this imminent Oil and Gas Jubilee election is quite a different undertaking. Notice the widespread doubts relevant to a final list of electors? I trust the GECOM “foreign” inputs may indeed inspire His Excellency’s “free and fair” assurance. For me it is still a Granger 36 to 40 seat victory. By any means! Bro Ogunseye knows how much is at stake. How much he has to lose…
Yours faithfully,
Allan Arthur Fenty
