Dear Editor,
Local Government Elections have always been the barometer or benchmark to measure the success of a political party at the General Elections. It is either a harbinger of good or bad news, of either a triumph or a disaster to that party -a resounding verdict submitted by a large section of the population. Hence, Local Government Elections are the large-scale opinion polls on political parties which will contest the General Elections.
In Guyana, the LGE has always been a good indicator of how well or badly a political party will do at the General Elections. It is also an indicator of how much more work needs to be done, and in which areas.
We have seen that, in 2016, the PPP/C won 48 out of the 80 LAAs; in 2018, it won 52; and in 2023, it won 66 of the LAAs. It must be recalled that the massive increase in the gap between APNU/AFC — from 24,000 votes to 50,000 votes in 2018 — despite gerrymandering efforts by the Coalition, formed the basis for the No Confidence Motion in December 2018. The LGE Result in 2018 signalled to the PPP/C that their tenure as an Opposition Party was at an end. On December 21st 2018, the successful passing of the NCM saw the collapse of the Coalition Government, which paved the way for the 2020 General Elections, after many legal dramas from the High Court, the Appeal Court in Guyana, and eventually to the CCJ.
The Coalition supporters witnessed a most dastardly attempt to rig the 2020 Elections, and thereafter were regaled with the many lies spun to them. The nasty past of the PNC was brought live and direct to them, and the seed of disappointment, distrust, and disillusion was sown in their minds. This seed began to germinate, and in 2023, the PPP/C has increased its LAAs from 52 to 66.
What does this indicate? The support for the PPP/C is increasing massively, while that for the APNU is dwindling drastically, as is evidenced even in the support of their traditional strongholds. This is also testimony to the fact that the PPP has been successful in convincing APNU members and supporters that the PPP/C is the only multiracial party capable of transforming the lives of each and every Guyanese, and that its ONE GUYANA initiative is the way forward in promoting racial and religious harmony across Guyana, regardless of one’s class, gender, or political affiliation, and so achieve social and economic prosperity for all.
We have seen that the PPP/C Government and leaders have reached out to every nook and cranny in this country, distributing economic resources in a most equitable manner. Guyanese have seen the true nature of the beast, and have moved away and distanced themselves from the destructive agenda of the PNC. This is not about bribery; this is about making rational decisions based on years and years of experience as they became helpless spectators to the PNC’s destructive agenda.
They have also witnessed the fact that the PNC is the party which actually marginalised its own people for more than 33 years, which they spent in Government, as admitted by Dr Hinds. People like Ms Barbara Pilgrim, a woman of great integrity, who have lived her entire life as a PNC member and has seen from both within and without the true nature of the beast, became increasingly suffocated, decided to move away to the PPP so that Guyana could move forward into the promised land – One Guyana. The others felt the same.
Moreover, it is becoming increasingly difficult for PNC leaders to convince their supporters they are capable of delivering “the good life”, as was evidenced from 2015 to 2020, and these people are now convinced more than ever before that the PPP is the right choice; they are experiencing the good life under this Government.
Further, Dr Jagdeo pointed out in his press conference on 13th June that the people are fed up with racism and have now refused to drink the ‘racism Kool-Aid; and he summed it up aptly when he stated that the “PNC is the only racist party in Guyana”.
The PNC has now lost its trump card. The 2023 results have testified that the PPP works for all the people, and that a landslide victory is in the making in 2025, since the PPP/C will continue to keep its promises and deliver on them.
The PPP has definitely changed the course of history, and has been successful in castrating the beast, the total destruction of which is now just a matter of time.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
