It’s been three years since Granger decided to throw in the towel and not “do a Burnham”!! But rather than reflect on why they lost the elections of 2020, after winning – under the same rules and electoral lists etc – in 2015, the PNC’s insisting that the “ethnic divide” demands new electoral rules that’ll guarantee them a place in government!! And that’s democracy??
OK…there are definitely “divides” in Guyana. But which society on Planet Earth doesn’t have “divides”?? Even the most homogenous societies in the world – say, Japan and the Scandinavian countries – got class divides. Human beings gonna always divide themselves…it’s the way with the world. The challenge is for leaders to work for the good of their country, and not EXPLOIT divisions. And that’s the problem in Guyana!
The PNC exploits our Guyanese divisions for their own narrow, selfish compulsion to seize power – by hook or crook, especially by crook! – in the tradition of their founder-leader Burnham!! That’s all there is to what went down three years ago. For instance, how in the world do you FIX a situation that works in every parliamentary democracy in the world with absolutely no problem – the NO Confidence Motion (NCM) – with “electoral and constitutional reform”?? Do you need “electoral and constitutional” reform to make the PNC accept that 33 is the majority of 65 – especially when they had got into office with that majority??
And that’s the problem we have in Guyana…it’s a situation that has nothing to do with Guyana’s “divisions” and everything to do with the PNC and their bullyism. Didn’t they beat the PPP to the “negotiating table”, after losing the 1997 elections, and extracted not only a two-year reduction in their term of office – but massive “constitutional reform” that saw the PNC given all sorts of Parliamentary power to checkmate the Executive power of the PPP Government? For instance, there were the “Parliamentary Sectoral Committees” that had oversight over every aspect of the Government’s work.
But that didn’t satisfy the PNC, did it?? The bottom line is nothing else but total power for ever and ever (was that an amen??) gonna ever satisfy them. Never mind the demographic changes in our country – wrought by the PNC’s reversion to violence after every election, which pushed greater Indian Guyanese emigration – now ensures there’s no one group with an absolute majority. All the PNC has to do is rein in its thuggish behaviour – like it did in 2015 – and it can gain office!!
The Americans have a pithy saying that’s very apt for us right now: “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. Just have the PNC fix their demons!!
…at Roger Luncheon
While Roger Luncheon was only seventy-four, to most Guyanese he was like “ole man river” – always there representing the PPP. He was involved in a famous incident in the lead-up to the 1992 elections. One of the urban group of professionals who’d anointed themselves “power brokers” – Compass? Guard?? – suggested to Dr Jagan that he step aside as the leader of the Opposition, because as an “Indian” he wouldn’t be acceptable to the African voters.
As a measure of his confidence in Roger Luncheon, Dr Jagan proposed him to be the PPP’s Presidential Candidate. Back came the answer – while Luncheon was Black, which was acceptable, he was also Red, which wasn’t!! So, to those who bemoan that the PPP never had an African Guyanese Presidential candidate, let it be known it wasn’t because of the PPP!!
While Luncheon didn’t hold any ministerial post after the PPP got into office in 1992, as Head of the Presidential Secretariat, he wielded more power than most in the PPP. RIP.
…at “Day of Standstill”
Last Monday, your Eyewitness was on the lookout for signs that the “Day of Standstill” called by one of the upcoming mushroom parties for 2025 was being observed.
Traffic certainly didn’t grind to no standstill!!
