ELECTIONS! ELECTIONS! ELECTIONS!
November 12, 2005
EDWARD HARRIS AT LARGE!!!
ELECTIONS! ELECTIONS! ELECTIONS!!!
The indications are that Elections will be called in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before the end of 2005 and in St. Lucia and Guyana sometime in 2006. Interesting times are ahead politically and on all fronts the incumbents look good. Opposition parties are not as organized as they should be to offer any formidable challenge. In the case of Guyana with 32 parties, it is a comical affair though others may feel it is democracy at work. I feel the time has come to set some standards in the nomination process that will only bring serious political parties in contention.
It is very disturbing to hear the doom and gloom positions being taken by Guyanese while neighbouring Entrepreneurs are seeking out Guyana for investments. The past week recorded a visit from the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries. It is very clear that after the Christmas holidays it will not be business as usual as most businesspersons will go on hold until the elections have passed. This is in sharp contrast to the smaller islands where it is business as usual elections or no elections. But in the MDCs everything is linked to politics and businesspersons are always positioning themselves to benefit from the outcome of an election. Many of them will bet against the odds that a non starter in the political race will win all because of their relationship with the leadership of the party they are backing.
In the context of Guyana, the constitution as it relates to appointment of parliamentarians is stacked in favour of the PPP/Civic. I was in Guyana for a few days this month and I continue to hear the call for a national front government, a coalition government, call it what you will but it all means sharing the administration of the country. In this context the PPP/Civic can claim it is doing that with the leader of the UF as a cabinet minister and taking on responsibilities for the Ministries of Commerce and Tourism. But everyone is seeking a wider involvement. Will this happen the next time around. I remember in 1997 when as Campaign Manager for the then Guyana Democratic Party – GDP headed by Mr. Asgar Ali former Finance Minister in the PPP/Civic first administration that I organized a conference of all the political parties at that time to discuss the prospects of a Coalition Government as at that time the hopes were high based on the implementation of the voter photo ID which was a wasted effort.
It is very clear that if there is going to be any movement in the parliamentary arrangement it will have to be initiated by the PPP/Civic. It will have to be at their pleasure. I feel that good governance is only practiced when a government acts in the best interest of the people. It is time that a referendum be called to test the type of parliamentary elections the people want. Is it first past the post or is it proportional representation? It is time to let the people decide. Maybe with all the talk, the people may decide that they like things as they are because don’t forget this new parliamentary act which governs parliamentary appointments was given birth by a genius. But until then, there will be grumblings.
The Alliance for Change is the talk of the town. It will take a lot of money for them to get organized in time for the up coming elections but the team of leaders seem set to make a major statement in the next elections. Talk is cheap but we have seen again and again when it gets down to the crunch it the same old story – PPP or PNC. So now what is new? Two brilliant young lawyers just past the age that we can refer to them as youths but young enough to be considered young men are presenting themselves. Shared leadership, two presidents in one term. I believe this needs some rethinking. It would be good enough for me that the two leaders serve alternate terms. It has been shown in the USA where Presidents do badly in their second term and generally after four years in political office, it takes its toll so change in four years seems good to me but this new innovative idea of sharing the presidency mid term, if that is what the people want, let them have it. Run a few polls and get to the pulse of the people. We live in an electronic age. This would be the first step in the walk on Democracy Street for the AFC.
What new ideas are the AFC offering? One thing I would like to see and this is from my personal shopping list, that unlike the PPP/Civic which promised to revisit the constitution after their first victory and they did but ignored the parliament act that upholds proportional representation and gives the winner a take all approach allowing the party with the highest votes to form the government thus blocking out completely the prospects of a coalition majority government. The AFC must place in its manifesto and constantly proclaim from its platform over the campaign period that they will revisit the constitution as a priority within the first 100 days to deal with the system of parliamentary appointment that will return the country to real democracy where FIRST PAST THE POST would be once again the system that puts the people’s representative into parliament. (This is of course after a poll has been taken to cofirm that the people need to go down that road). With the present system, parliamentarian are removed from the people and take collective responsibility for the whole country. That is not what allows for effective political interaction. A change to the electoral/parliamentary system is necessary. Use technology to assist in bringing the wishes of the people to the fore. For God’s sake give the people a chance to say how they want to live their lives in a DEMOCRACY. What is so different with Guyana that it needs PR when the free world is happy with FPTP?
God is in charge and all men will be accountable for their deeds. Every election presents an opportunity for change for the better. Make the next election in Guyana special.
God bless you all!!!