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Dear Editor,
Mr. Ravi Dev, a well-known social commentator, in a recent newspaper letter, suggested that the PPP/CP could choose to call early elections in Guyana. His reasoning was that both the PNCR and the AFC were perceived to be in disarray both before and after their recent party congresses. Even if there were some problems within these parties, in my opinion, the PPP/CP would not attempt to call early elections.
In the lead-up to the 2020 elections, the People’s Progressive Party/Congress of the People engaged with the Guyanese people for months to develop a manifesto which they declared to be a “contract” with the people. In the manifesto, themed “Our Plan for Prosperity”, they stated: “We all share a desire to build a society that is free, prosperous, socially just, globally competitive and that serves every Guyanese fairly.”
In its 2020 manifesto, the PPP/C made several promises such as allocating 50,000 residential plots, creating 50,000 new jobs, reducing VAT on several items such as education and healthcare, and reopening sugarcane plantations.
The PPP/C wants to ensure that the scope and extent of the promises are fully delivered. They do not want to disappoint the people by failing to deliver on their promises like the APNU+AFC coalition did.
An early election would make the remaining 10% or so of the country’s pledges, such as cheaper, more reliable energy; blending fossil fuels with ethanol to reduce carbon emissions; creating an international centre of excellence for biodiversity; and constitutional reform, unsuccessful. It would also set back the country’s rapid development momentum, which was initially set back by two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PPP/C also wanted to bolster voters’ “trust” and one way to do that was to deliver on all of its manifesto promises. They even went beyond their manifesto promises: for example, building 3,435 houses and several schools.
The PPP/C promised to “build, renovate and rebuild” schools. They have exceeded all reasonable expectations: they have arranged for the construction of 22 secondary schools and 6 primary schools during their term, not to mention providing a $600,000 (or $2,884) annual subsidy for patients receiving dialysis treatment, while continuing to build the trust.
Racial discrimination has been a major political tool of the opposition, which has at times put the PPP on the defensive. However, when the PPP began offering racially segregated properties, scholarships, jobs, skills training, etc., the opposition turned its attention to corruption, which has been a major national concern since the three Guyanese were implicated in gold smuggling, the dismantling of a Chinese gold smuggling ring, and the revelation of massive corruption at the police headquarters.
These anomalies must be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted to restore the confidence of the Guyanese people. The PPP/CP needs to finish the job. Snap elections will be seen as a distraction.
Although the PPP/CP has ample evidence (data) to prove the fairness of resource allocation, the opposition still finds racial discrimination politically attractive to them. They will not give up this seemingly limited political tool.
While the results of the 2023 local government elections show that issues are becoming increasingly important to voters, both the PPP/C and the PNCR know that race remains the primary determinant of political preferences.
Despite a mediocre performance by the APNU+AFC coalition (7,000 sugar workers were dismissed), they lost the 2020 general election with less than 3% of the vote, while the PPP/C won a majority with less than 1%. With major demographic changes, the electoral process has become more intense. It is unclear whether the opposition forces hold the same position as they continue to push for executive power-sharing.
The PPP/CPP knows that “trust” is an important political asset that must be earned, but they also know that it takes time to build and maintain trust. Therefore, they will use the remaining time in office to continue to build trust by making government work for the people, revitalizing communities, improving social and physical infrastructure, fighting corruption, and fulfilling the remaining promises.
They know that trust can also win them the traditional PNCR crossover votes. Rather than taking any risk by holding early elections, they will continue to work hard to win the people’s trust and ultimately their votes. Therefore, they will use the remaining time in office to build, build, and build. Holding early elections is incompatible with their vision and electoral strategy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tara Singh
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