Dear Editor,
According to Professor Palmer in his academic paper “Elections and Political Development, The South Asian Experience” (Oxford University Press-1975), elections are considered as a bridge between the voters and the political elites, between the polity and the society…” While the main vehicle for their message is by way of the platform, TV programmes and social media, the serious political parties leave a longer-term planning document with the voters called a “manifesto” (action plan). The manifesto outlines their list of policy measures that they plan to implement if elected.
Let us be clear, in the Guyanese context, only the PPP/C’s and APNU’s manifesto really matter in 2020 since only these two parties have the mass base at this time to win an election in a theoretical sense. As a voter and a citizen of Guyana, I plan to read both of these manifestos. However, I can only find a document from the PPP/C. So, I am asking Mr David Granger, where is the APNU manifesto?
The manifesto is one of the most important tools of an election campaign. It is a tool that explores the agenda of the parties, but most importantly, it outlines their successes while they were in Government. Only a political party that takes the voters for granted will choose to not release this document to the people less than (1) month before the elections day. Such action sends the signal to the people that you do not care about them. Only the most ignorant of voters will endorse such political recklessness and laziness. The APNU, unfortunately, comes across as politically reckless and lazy by not producing their manifesto and sharing it with the people.
Why does the APNU think that the Guyanese voters are “ignars”? This is a major miscalculation on their part because the voters that I have met so far, as I walk this land of ours, are very aware of the state of their personal wellbeing and they are not happy with Mr Granger’s performance over the last 4 years and 6 months. Is this why Mr Granger is shying away from producing and distributing the APNU’s manifesto? Does he not have a record to showcase? Is his entire election campaign sloganeering and personality assassination?
But he is misled since the voters do not want to engage in empty sloganeering like the “good life”. Worse yet, the voters do not want to hear a message around Jagdeo, Jagdeo and yes, more Jagdeo. They want to read the manifestos to see how this “good life” that Mr Granger promised will be delivered. They want to see what Mr Granger has done for them over the last 4 years and 6 months. But looking around Guyana, I am convinced in my conviction that there is not much that Mr Granger can talk about policy-wise and thus his inability to produce his manifesto in a timely manner.
In the case of the PPP/C, since November 2019, the voters were able to read their plans for prosperity over the period 2020-2025. I have read that document and I am more aware of the plans of the PPP/C around major issues like what they will do about job creation, education, the elderly, the children, rescuing the productive sector, what are their plans for the emerging sectors like ICT, securing the oil and gas sector for all Guyanese, building a stock of public infrastructure to secure Guyana’s future and so on. But there is total radio silence from team Granger on these matters.
This is the second time the APNU has done this. In 2015 they released their manifesto days to the elections. Are we seeing the same disrespect again today? Is this an indication that the APNU does not have planners and thinkers to pull together such a document promptly?
With regards,
Sasenarine Singh
