Your Eyewitness knows this is a big “if” …but we know that anything’s possible, don’t we, Dear Reader?? The question, though, is how PROBABLE is such an outcome? Georgetown has 15 constituencies, and its residents elect 30 Councillors, who elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from their ranks. Fifteen Councillors will come from Proportional Representation (PR), depending on the total votes garnered by a party, group, or individual in the City, and another 15 will come from the First Past the Post (FPTF) vote in each constituency.
Most folks are focused on the FPTP voting – since this “matches up” candidates against each other in their own stomping grounds – it’s seen as “who beating who”!! It’s sexy!! And that’s where those “name” candidates who were weaned away from the PNC come in. For instance, now that she’s switched from PNC to PPP, will Patricia Chase-Green be able to beat her PNC opponent in Constituency 14, South Ruimveldt in South Georgetown?? Does she have a personal following?? Will the old ethnic loyalties hold true? Or will the PPP’s full-court press tilt her erstwhile PNC diehards towards them, because Chase-Green is a known face who’s taken care of them in the past??
Frankly, up to now, local personal followings for local or national elections didn’t matter much: for the political behemoths, Cheddi Jagan’s dictum: “if I put a post to run against so-and-so, the post will win”, held up to the 2018 LGE. At LGEs, however, local popular candidates, however, bring their knowledge of local conditions, and the party sponsoring them can address their concerns more granularly. The independents who’re running will simply be playing possible spoiler roles – and will most likely suffer the ignominious fate of Mark Benschop in 2015 – who was convinced his personal following would at least get him a seat!! WRONG!!
Right now, of the 30 Councillors on the City Council, 21 are APNU, two are AFC, and seven are PPP/C. While this is an improvement from the 2 in 2015, it’s gonna be a revolution if they can squeeze out another 9 to give them majority control of the Council!! In the final lap, PPP GS Jagdeo highlighted what’s gonna happen if they win GT. Rather than insult GTers by dangling projects and boondoggles, he pointed out that the money from taxes and subventions was mostly frittered away. He highlighted the benefits of increased transparency and accountability his party would bring. The projects already completed in the past two years – like Independence Blvd! – speak for themselves!!
Rationally speaking, from the way the PNC has mismanaged GT during the past half century, the PPP should’ve been a shoo-in. But Guyanese politics has never been rational, has it??
…history’s use??
Hamilton Green’s fond of fabricating history, because he “was there”. He got a rude awakening from the young Minister of Tourism, Oneidge Walrond. Ironically accused of being “blissfully” unaware of some concocted claims, the Minister shot back: “I can assure Mr. Green that there is one thing of which I am certainly not “blissfully unaware,” and that is of his own not insignificant contribution to difficulties we continue to face as a nation”!! Ouch!! Yesterday, your Eyewitness already debunked Green’s concoction that the PPP introduced “Apan jaat” in 1957. But that ain’t gonna faze Green, he’ll continue “to add to difficulties we continue to face as a nation.”
But Minister Walrond perhaps went a tad overboard when she claimed, “the PNC between the years 1964 to 1992 did nothing to address specific issues confronting people of African descent.” They did – but chose disastrous policies that mustn’t be repeated – as the PNC’s demanding again. Like the co-op projects and the 23,000-armed forces staffed with African Guyanese etc.
…Haiti’s help??
Pres Ali’s in the Bahamas meeting US VP Kamla Harris. She’s offering US$50+M towards Haiti’s humanitarian crisis. But she’s also recommending an intervention to handle the endemic gang warfare. With us on the Security Council, we should support it…
