No amount of jumbie arithmetic can deny the LGE result

Dear Editor,
The Local Government Election (LGE) has come and gone and the electorate has spoken. It was a midterm election used as a barometer to measure the Government’s performance (or non-performance), over the past three years. The fact that millions were spent on campaigning by all the political parties involved meant the primary objective of going into the election was to win and win big. As such, for some supporters of the Government to claim that the mere fact that LGE was held in 2018 is cause for celebration because it showed the world that local democracy is alive, (it should always be), is disingenuous and is an attempt to find some (any) consolation and solace amidst the devastation and utter rejection of a Government that has self-destructed, and is turning a blind eye to the realities, (and figures), of the just concluded election. The truth be told, showing the world that local democracy is alive in Guyana was of secondary importance in the larger scheme of things.
Abraham Lincoln once said you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. What Lincoln didn’t say, (but should have said), is that there is nothing worse than fooling yourself. Based on what is being reported in the media, the only people the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government is fooling at this time is themselves and the two dozen supporters who were present at their joint press conference which was held at Congress Place, Sophia.
In a referendum of sort on the APNU/AFC coalition Government, the people rejected them both and embraced the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in a big way. The electorate saw the PPP as a shoulder to cry on and turned, (and many returned), to the cup, not for sustenance, but to shed their tears into and put their X next to. And justifiably so, for this present Government came into office promising change but has failed to deliver. In three years it has been a major disappointment and has become a talking point for all the wrong reasons. The APNU, (read People’s National Congress), must know now that the electorate, including their supporters, (save and except the two dozen present at their press conference at Sophia), has come to realise that their slogan of a “good life for all”, is just rhetoric and another empty promise. The only people enjoying the good life are the members of the Cabinet. The rest of the population is barely existing. The self-proclaimed “fit and proppa” AFC must now realise that not only are they considered unfit and improper but irrelevant as well. The AFC, like the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), is paying the price for failing to see itself as an equal and important partner in a coalition Government which clings to power by a mere one-seat majority in Parliament, believing instead that it is a junior partner and allowing the PNC to treat it with scorn, contempt and disrespect. The mere threat of a no-confidence motion against the PNC-controlled Government by either the AFC or the WPA, would have made the big bad PNC understand that its survival as a Government is dependent on equal treatment of its coalition partners. You have that power and its time you let the PNC know that. Had you taken the bull by its horns and asserted your importance and power, either of you could have taken the spotlight away from Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP. However, all is not lost for there is still time to do the honourable thing as honourable members of the House. Even as I am aware that people only do the right thing when it is the easiest thing for them to do, I ask that you put country first and lend your support to the no-confidence motion that is to be tabled in Parliament by the PPP for there is so much to gain with relevance being numero uno.
The joint press conference hastily called by the PNC and the AFC, (at the insistence of the PNC no doubt), is an indication that all is not well within the coalition, (nobody is missing the fact that the coalition comprises more than two parties only). The fear of abandonment looms large because of the manner in which the PNC has (ill) treated the other members of the coalition. There are justifiable reasons for the PNC to fear a no-confidence motion at this time. If all was well then by all means such a motion would have easily been defeated by a coalition Government which holds a majority in Parliament. Should the Government manage to defeat this motion, it is hoped that the other important members of the coalition finally realise that real power lies not with the PNC but real power resides in them, and they start to demand due respect.
Finally, to the Government and its supporters who are making light of what the results of the LGE means and think that Bharrat Jagdeo is blowing hot air, that David Hinds is crazy, and voter’s apathy is to be blamed for your poor showing, then by all means forget about trying to stave off a valid no-confidence motion by the slimmest of majority in Parliament, call a snap election now and win yourselves a landslide. Until then, know this puts a
spin on the results and no amount of jumbie arithmetic can deny the fact that 65 per cent of the people who voted have said enough is enough.

Respectfully,
Reginald Sookram