So what… happened?

Your Eyewitness is pecking away (desultorily) at this piece – as he compulsively scans his phone every other minute looking for some sorta authoritative pronouncement on the final figures on the elections! He knows the PPP won – big time; the PNC lost – even bigger time!! – and Sanction Man made out like a bandit – pun darn well intended!! But what’s behind this? Your Eyewitness’ enquiring mind wants to know!!
He’s seen one report that the total number of votes cast was 372,135. This means that from the OLE of 757,690 names – even if we exclude the 100,000 or so who’ve migrated – we had a very, VERY low turnout. In 2020 there’d been 464,565 voters who’d shown up – from the OLE of 661,378!! What’s behind this drop of 92,000 voters when the list had actually INCREASED by 96,000 since then?? One explanation is that historically, the PNC’s constituency always had a comparatively low turnout rate – being conditioned for decades that their leaders would rig or otherwise “fix” the results in their favour. Why bother to get your finger dirty??!! And in this go-around, the circus that the PNC had become after Norton became leader would’ve turned them off even more than usual! And this, even though, on the hustings, everybody and their uncle were in agreement that this election was gonna be one for the (history) books!!
The controversies over the leadership election – padding of party groups’ membership, sexual assault allegations, etc. – caused several of those seeking the position to quit in disgust and even launch new parties!!It’s now clear that a great number of regular supporters were even more disgusted – and expressed their sentiment by not bothering to show up at the polling stations! Others – mostly the Scrapeheads section – gave their ‘X’s to Sanction Man’s WIN not only because of the big bucks he doled out but also because of the aforementioned disgust with the party! A goodly number of mainstream PNC-ites also voted for that reason for the PPP – in addition to appreciating the inclusive developmental strategy of that party that had personally improved their lives!
Thirdly, and most significantly, the PPP’s record – and the massive tsunamis of red at their rallies – however gave their supporters an overabundance of confidence!! Their party was gonna win in any case against the anaemic PNC and dead meat AFC! They figured staying at home wouldn’t matter to the party’s certain winning!! Well, the PPP won all right – with some 36 or 37 seats, which far exceeds the 33 from 2020!!
But while their housebound supporters might’ve been right about their party winning regardless, your Eyewitness is sure the PPP’s brain trust wouldn’t have minded the certain two-thirds majority with a higher turnout!!

…about incumbency?
A report by the EU Observer Mission just crossed your Eyewitness’ feed – and as far as he can see, they got their bucktas and drawers into a knot about the “advantages” of the PPP being in office at the time of the elections!! Said they, “The President and his administration inaugurated a high number of public projects (hospitals, schools, roads and bridges) and launched several social support programmes, combining these events with campaign activities.”
So, since the President and his cabinet were seeking re-election, they were expected to hold off on these “inaugurations” – even though the accomplishments of any Government form the basis for seeking re-election?? Is this how it’s done in Europe – or anywhere else?? “Incumbency advantage” might be a threat when electoral turnover is infrequent!! But here in Guyana this Government was voted out in 2015 while running an identical “incumbent” campaign?? And won in 2020 as an opposition party without the “advantages” of incumbencies??
And what about the advantages of a billionaire candidate doling out money for votes??

…the US flotilla?
Well, the US flotilla sent down to deal with the Venezuelan cartels’ drug shipments to the States just made its first interdiction on the high seas. And literally blew it out of the water!!