Dear Editor,
The euphoria which Guyanese are presently caught up in is most understandable after what the country has gone through during the last five months.
The support that many gave was with a view to preserving our still fragile democracy while others saw it differently by putting party interest and the defence of democracy in the same basket.
Whichever way it’s viewed I am happy for all Guyana that the fiasco has ended, at least that which had prevented a lawfully elected government from taking office.
The real test of this victory is still a long way from being considered a true victory for all Guyana in terms of mending the fragile relationship between the two main political parties which once again share a narrow margin of victory confirming that the practice of ethnic voting is alive and strong.
Currently as it stands the coalition has come out of this battle all the worst for prolonging the agony of the PPP/C’s victory and all those who fought to maintain a free and fair electoral process.
I have seen and heard too many promises of inclusive governance by the main contenders and have a very low tolerance for believing that there will be any significant difference to that which has pertained in the past.
For starters as mentioned above the foundation bases of both parties are built on ethnic support and both sides will not want to experiment with this formula. The fundamental difference this time around is that the PPP/C now have the benefit of hindsight which is more significant than it ever was in past elections.
The PPP/C cannot and should not make the same fatal mistakes of the coalition by ignoring the real concerns of all Guyanese which is that of feeling and experiencing fairness and equality at all levels of their circumstances. Guyanese will be holding President Ali to his unforgettable and indelible words during his swearing-in that his will be a “Government for all of The People”.
In politics words are cheap and often whimsical but this time around they will be under a microscope that will be carefully analyzed and used as evidence against the President and his party should they fail to deliver in a tangible way.
The window dressing often displayed in our politics has lost most of its glamour so the people are no longer fooled. I would rather see a cabinet of all Afro-Guyanese or in this case all Indo-Guyanese just as long as their intentions are honourable and fair to everyone concerned be they black, brown or polka dot.
Congratulations to President Ali, and the new Government of Guyana. May your term prove to be the undoing of all that, which has kept this great and prosperous Nation from attaining its true potential.
Yours faithfully,
B.A . Ramsay
