…for survival
Entering the 2025 elections homestretch, we witness jaded ritual by the parties throwing their hats into the political (circus?) ring. And this even though the demographics have completely changed since the sixties – when the ethnic voting patterns were seemingly set in stone. The PPP and PNC – with support in the larger ethnic blocks – are challenged by new parties promising to change the voting patterns and lead the people into a land of milk and honey!!
We can do worse than consider the current activities of ANUG, one of the latest entrants that managed to survive – even if barely by the hair on their chinny chin chin! – their entry in the 2020 elections. To be fair, their hand was forced when the PPP called their no-confidence motion just before Christmas 2018. They were probably preparing to toast marshmallows as they swigged rum punch to loud “Ho-ho-hos” They were, after all, quite a middle class, long-in-the-tooth boughie lot who clearly felt the rabble in the two major parties weren’t up to snuff!!
So ANUG was launched in mid-January 2019 – the excesses of the Xmas and New Year soirees had to wear off!! Their elder statesman – who’d been ostracised from the PPP after donkey years, and was channelling Jagan – predicted confidently they’d win the elections. This had to be held 90 days after the No Confidence Motion was carried by one Charandass Persaud voting his conscience!! Another ANUG leader – who’d switched from the PNC to the PPP, and had been eased out -channelled Burnham as he decried the ethnic politics that was shafting African Guyanese! The other biggie channelled D’Aguiar as he bemoaned the dilemma of those outside the Indian-African equation!! Retro politics was back!!
Anyhow, ANUG scraped 2313 votes – which wasn’t even enough to earn them one-third of a seat, much less win the elections!! But being chock-full of lawyers, they invoked a little-known clause in the elections law that allowed parties to “join their lists” – and their votes. So they hitched up with a party that courted and received 2657 Amerindian votes, and “The New Movement” (TNM) that received 244 votes – of probably relatives and friends!! This gave then one seat to share, even though their 5214 total was far from the 7000 needed per seat!! Rounding up!!
But a funny thing happened on the way to serving their time…erm…term!! After the Amerindian rep woke up the Assembly with his minimalist covering till March 2023, ANUG decided to have the 244-vote TNM serve their stint of 90 days, then they’d close off to 2025. But TNM balked, by which time the old heads had walked!!
So they have a slate of novices (noviates?) going into 2025!!
…the oil windfall
When your back is against the wall, you gotta be willing to “try a thing”!! Like, for instance, arguing that 33 isn’t the ABSOLUTE majority of the 65-member National Assembly needed to oust the party in power – but was just a SIMPLE majority that allowed them to’ve won the 2015 elections!! How many criminals don’t plead in court, “The Devil made me do it!!” ??
Anyhow, after accusing the PPP govt of handing out cash grants mainly to THEIR supporters, and not sharing out the oil revenues a la their “Buxton Proposal” – the Opposition is now complaining that the PPP’s registration of adults to verify everyone will receive the $100,000 should be jettisoned!! Too much confusion – even though they admit the registration takes only 5 to 10 minutes!! It’s a matter of dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t!!
The Opposition just want to divide the country further by claiming that “once again”, the PPP’s fattening only THEIR supporters!! Gwan da side with that nonsense!!
