Dear Editor,
IN medicine, a patient would relate his/her symptoms to a doctor before any attempt at a diagnosis is made; and, most of the time, after tests are done, the doctor is able to make a diagnosis. Thereafter, treatment is administered, as in the case of cancer, to get to the source of the problem. In other words, treatment is given, not directly to the symptoms presented, but to the root of the underlying disease.
Guyana is in the throes of a colossal political mess, unparalleled in the annals of electioneering, a solution for which not even the international observers and foreign missions, including the US and Canadian Ambassadors, to name just two, have so far been able to influence. The ruling ‘caretaker’ government seems to have no qualms as they brazenly thumb their noses at all but their own activists, apologists, and radical political base.
A recount has been in progress for a month, despite a total vote count of around a mere half million, and following it for most of us is like watching grass grow! And every day comes with new communiques by the ruling party, not the least of which have been wild accusations of fraud at polling stations, including voting by people who allegedly had left the country, and ‘statistical anomalies,’ though the numbers of votes involved in these trumped-up claims are just infinitesimal to even come close to affect the final outcome.
While the entire country, diaspora, and the world watch as the recount ‘progresses,’ the ruling party, with the backing of the Armed Forces, lopsidedly staffed by its own supporters, videos of which give the erroneous impression of a monoracial population, is giving no hint it is likely to compromise and respect the will of the electorate. In fact, all indications point to possible myriad court actions if the recount indicates they lost.
Also, even the GECOM Commissioner, an ex-judge, has been acting as if under orders from APNU headquarters. And it goes on and on, as the country’s affairs are on a protracted hold, and with no silver lining visible to buoy the hopes of decent-minded Guyanese and the world at large.
I am one who has always looked beyond party loyalty for a just solution to the problems plaguing the Guyanese people, and I have, in letters to the press over the years, long before March 2, 2020, given vent to my views. I’ve posited, inter alia, that the British, as they were washing their hands of the colonies in their vast empire, too often resorted to a divide-and-rule strategy, one that resulted in a deep schism between the two major races in Guyana, starting with the Jagan-Burnham split they engineered. History will attest that they left us with nothing but a quagmire, after changing the electoral system from First-Past-The-Post (incidentally, a system still used in the UK) to Proportional Representation, as a means of geting rid of Cheddi Jagan, consistent with the wishes of Forbes Burnham and Peter D’Aguiar, then leaders of the opposition parties. Of course, we all know how D’Aguiar was shoved to the sidelines while Burnham pursued policies that drove the country to near bankruptcy while fattening his personal coffers.
As we witness the intransigence of the APNU/AFC government, in defiance of all other stakeholders, including foreign missions and observers, it is of vital importance that we strive to get to the root of the problem giving rise to the present scenario. The rift orchestrated by our former colonial masters resulted in a marked division, with the two major races eyeing each other with distrust, and at the polls, East Indians supporting Cheddi Jagan, Afro-Guyanese, Forbes Burnham. It is this, the underlying problem, that rears its ugly head come election-time every five years.
Some on each side of the political spectrum would argue that their party has made significant inroads into the other’s political base, and that there is no longer that racial divide when it comes to voting. I posit that such an argument is simply specious; and I’d be happy to revisit my stance on this when, for example, at least ten per cent of Port Mourant support the PNC and ten per cent of Buxton support the PPP! The problem of a racial pattern of voting is alive and kicking, and it is too often exploited by politicians. This is the source of the quandary we face in Guyana today, and unless addressed with a bipartisan approach, it is likely to continue unchecked, cycle after election cycle.
Indeed, the barefaced electoral fraud being perpetrated today is of the most unconscionable and egregious nature. However, I submit, what is happening are merely symptoms of the underlying problem; the said ethnic schism bequeathed us by the British.
And part of the problem is that the clear losers of this election, the APNU/WPA coalition, cognizant of the skewed pattern of voting, and that consequently they are likely this time to be relegated to history unless the PPP/C engages in the type of reckless governance they were accused of prior to 2015, are not inclined to concede.
What we need to do is, as I’ve indicated in my opening analogy, address the root of the problem instead of concentrating on the symptoms. It’s a malignancy that’s been metastasising for too long, and is likely to lead to devastating results, unless partisanship is shelved and a rational approach is adopted. I repeat, what we are witnessing are symptoms of the underlying problem, and little, if any, headway is likely if we keep concentrating only on the symptoms.
I have, in previous letters, suggested some form of a national-unity government, under the watchful eyes of an oversight committee comprising of elderly statesmen, members of the clergy involving the major religions, and a few lay folks, and I’ve touched on some of the vast benefits likely to follow. I quote the relevant paragraph in my February 17, 2017 letter: “The benefits of a national-unity government can be legion.
A bipartisan approach can lead to a drastic improvement in the crime situation, including the scourge of break-in robberies that for too long have been plaguing business and home owners and posing a disincentive for the many overseas-based Guyanese intent on re-migrating. And, most important, a surge in the economy is to be expected, with an uptick in entrepreneurship both by locals and re-migrants, and the consequent job creation which is likely to ensue.” Obviously, with national unity, we can expect a win-win situation for all. But the greatest benefit to be derived would be a populace living in harmony, in the absence of political mudslinging and gridlock at all levels.
A travesty of electoral justice has been inflicted on the Guyanese people, and now three months later, we are still waiting for a declaration of the winner. With the widespread support of foreign observers and missions on the side of fairness and transparency, a final and just resolution is still possible. It is abundantly clear the PPP/C won on March 2, and they should be declared as such. I hope that with the swearing-in of a new government, the task of forging unity would be paramount.
Perhaps we can follow the example set by the great Nelson Mandela, who, after twenty-seven years of his life was stolen from him, emerged from prison with neither revenge nor rancor, but racial unity and harmony uppermost in his mind. Of course, we all know how he stood tall, stayed the course, and made his country a much better place for all South Africans. This is also possible in Guyana, recognized as home to one of the nicest and most hospitable peoples on earth; so, my fellow Guyanese, let’s wake up and strive for national unity – it’s about time!
Regards,
Abel Peters
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_06_06_2020