Norman Whittaker M.P: The clamour for power sharing and the disturbing and reprehensible noises resonating and reverberating from among the reducing ranks of PNC/R supporters are yet a repetition of a more than decade-old manoeuvre intended to gain power through the backdoor.
This manoeuvre is premised no doubt on an acceptance of the fact that the PNC party is in political disarray and has determined that it could not win a plurality of votes to form a Government even by way of a coalition with the smaller ‘baby Parties ‘that have expressed a wish to contest the upcoming national and regional elections. Indeed, the PNC/R has become an anachronism in today’s Guyana.
Instead of working to put its house in order and possibly attract some support from among Party diehards; the PNC/R talk of power sharing and shared governance where only the PPP/C would have anything to share. I wish to posit that the PNC/R is yet to come out of the stupor/coma into which it slid in October 1992. And I hasten to caution that no form or amount of bullying or intimidation would help their cause.
The PNC/R may well be advised to look beyond 2011 and work to heal its wounds of the post-1992 period. In the meantime, the PPP/C is not averse and indeed has always been receptive to the politics of inclusive governance provided that what the Opposition has to offer coincides in some significant measure with the progressive demands of the Guyanese people and the PPP/C responses to those demands as reflected in our Manifestos of 1992, 1997, 2001, 2006 and may I confidently add, 2011.
The PNC/R would have the Guyanese populace believe that the degree of mistrust between the two major ethnic groups in our society is such that power sharing provides a form of assurance and protection of the rights of the two groups and provides also, a political climate for peace and progress. They would wish no doubt to see a form of Coalition Cabinet –backdoor politics.
But I ask of the PNC/R: have you considered what creates conditions for successful coalition governments and what keeps such coalitions together? Political will, trust, genuineness of purpose, coinciding interests based on common goals… And when one does a critical review/analysis of past actions of the PNC and the PNC/R, do you meet those requirements?
The PNC has continuously demonstrated since 1964, when they forced the United Force out of a coalition Government, that trust, cooperation, genuineness, which are a sine qua non of successful coalitions are learned behavior that is sadly missing among their numbers. Furthermore, the rigging of elections in the 1970s and the 1980s, which they masterminded and executed concomitant with the injustices which they meted out to Guyanese whom they viewed as their Opposition could not be preconditions for successful coalitions.
This manoeuvre is premised no doubt on an acceptance of the fact that the PNC party is in political disarray and has determined that it could not win a plurality of votes to form a Government even by way of a coalition with the smaller ‘baby Parties ‘that have expressed a wish to contest the upcoming national and regional elections. Indeed, the PNC/R has become an anachronism in today’s Guyana.
Instead of working to put its house in order and possibly attract some support from among Party diehards; the PNC/R talk of power sharing and shared governance where only the PPP/C would have anything to share. I wish to posit that the PNC/R is yet to come out of the stupor/coma into which it slid in October 1992. And I hasten to caution that no form or amount of bullying or intimidation would help their cause.
The PNC/R may well be advised to look beyond 2011 and work to heal its wounds of the post-1992 period. In the meantime, the PPP/C is not averse and indeed has always been receptive to the politics of inclusive governance provided that what the Opposition has to offer coincides in some significant measure with the progressive demands of the Guyanese people and the PPP/C responses to those demands as reflected in our Manifestos of 1992, 1997, 2001, 2006 and may I confidently add, 2011.
The PNC/R would have the Guyanese populace believe that the degree of mistrust between the two major ethnic groups in our society is such that power sharing provides a form of assurance and protection of the rights of the two groups and provides also, a political climate for peace and progress. They would wish no doubt to see a form of Coalition Cabinet –backdoor politics.
But I ask of the PNC/R: have you considered what creates conditions for successful coalition governments and what keeps such coalitions together? Political will, trust, genuineness of purpose, coinciding interests based on common goals… And when one does a critical review/analysis of past actions of the PNC and the PNC/R, do you meet those requirements?
The PNC has continuously demonstrated since 1964, when they forced the United Force out of a coalition Government, that trust, cooperation, genuineness, which are a sine qua non of successful coalitions are learned behavior that is sadly missing among their numbers. Furthermore, the rigging of elections in the 1970s and the 1980s, which they masterminded and executed concomitant with the injustices which they meted out to Guyanese whom they viewed as their Opposition could not be preconditions for successful coalitions.
Last month, four parties – the PNC/R, the Working People’s Alliance, the Guyana Action Party and the National Front Alliance – announced the formation of the Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) to contest the next general elections. Incidentally, the formation of the JOPP can be viewed as a last resort attempt by the dying PNC/R to secure a position of power, following the return of free elections in Guyana in 1992. The PNC/R ruled Guyana illegitimately through rigged elections from 1968 to 1992.
ReplyDeleteWhether the JOPP will remain intact until voting day remains uncertain since there are bound to be leadership struggles within the alliance. The PNC/R, the leading opposition party, has a tainted track record that could result in mistrust among members of the alliance. Even if the alliance holds up, Guyanese will not soon forget that the PNC/R is responsible for three decades of suffering under its rule. As well, the WPA, which is the only other party within the alliance with some degree of respect, will lose its credibility for allying with “the enemy”, putting the alliance in further jeopardy. The WPA was initially formed in the struggle against the PNC/R. Its’ former leader, Walter Rodney, was allegedly murdered on PNC/R instructions.
The formation of the JOPP has left the AFC, the most successful of all fringe parties since the United Force in 1964, in the cold. It was bent on the formation of the People’s Partnership but has refused to join ranks with the JOPP. It apparently believes it can win the elections on its own or at the very least emerge as a credible third force. The two leadership candidates of the AFC, Raphael Trotman and Khemraj Ramjattan, are spoils of the PNC/R and the PPP/C, respectively. During the last general elections it secured 8.4% of the total votes cast, largely at the expense of the PNC/R whose support fell by 8% compared to the 2001 elections.
Incidentally, the AFC continues to be viewed with suspicion. During the 2006 elections, rumors were rife that one of America’s richest philanthropists was behind Dick Morris who was the party’s political advisor