Dear Editor,
To walk, or not to walk? That is the question. I am not talking cricket, I’m referring to politics and political leaders. An ever defiant 84-year-old President Robert Mugabe in response to calls from several world leaders to step down, said on Friday that “Zimbabwe is mine,” and vowed never to surrender, saying no African nation was brave enough to topple him. He added that he was elected by Zimbabweans and that they were the only persons who could remove him.
This in spite of his loss at the polls after twenty-eight years to Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai and a breakdown in the talks between them to form a unity government.
In the Turks & Caicos Islands, Premier Michael Misick is fighting for his political life since not only the Opposition Peoples Demo-cratic Movement (PDM) has lost confidence in him, but nine of the thirteen members of parliament of his Peoples National Party (PNP) also. Premier Misick, who’s often been described as the playboy politician since his high-profile marriage to American actress Lisa Raye McCoy and subsequent break-up, has described the attempt to remove him as unconstitutional and unfortunate, adding that he was elected leader by the party.
It is noteworthy that Misick was sworn in for a second term last year, after his party won a sweeping victory capturing 13 out of 15 seats. In the space of a year, he has lost the confidence of his own party.
In Guyana, the Opposition Leader Robert Corbin who assumed leadership of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in 2002, has rejected calls from members of his party to step down. He too like Misick, argues that he was elected overwhelmingly at the party’s last congress.
Leaders have to know in their hearts when their time is over. They should leave at the top of their game and leave behind an organization where the next leader can flourish. The number of politicians who overstay their time outnumber those who leave before their time. The latter often happens suddenly and tragically, such as when John F. Kennedy of the US, Pierre Charles of Dominica and a few others died in their political prime.
It is always hard for leaders to relinquish political office, and it seems that this is more addictive than heroin. Abandoning the habit involves not only losing perks and a certain lifestyle, but also the loss of power. The addiction to political office is frightening as democracies turn into autocracies when leaders fail to recognise the limits of their power. Discon-nection is the beginning, and then the belief that one is the only person who knows what is right and good.
In the region, we have seen leaders who, more or less voluntarily, have given up power. Guyana’s first female President Janet Jagan resigned in 1999 for health reasons and Bharrat Jagdeo assumed office. Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson resigned in 2006 paving the way for the first female Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller to be sworn in. Former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur resigned the leadership of the Barbados Labour Party after his party was defeated in the January 15, 2008 election, stating, “I believe it would be in the very best interest of the development of the party and also the development of democracy in our country if the transition to a new leadership in the Barbados Labour Party is made immediately.” Mia Mottley took over the reins and is now the Opposition Leader.
The amendment to the Guyana Constitution barring a President from holding office for more than two terms is probably the best way to ensure political leaders do not overstay their welcome and wear out their effectiveness, since it appears that there is no way for political leaders to leave the scene gracefully.
So though Robert Corbin now hears from his party that he should go, he believes that the people still want him. It may be that the party might have a better sense of what is viable not just today, but also tomorrow − at the next election, for example.
Overstaying one’s welcome may be the professional disease of political leaders and they may well be advised that like a gentleman cricketer such as Adam Gilchrist or Brian Lara they should know when to walk.
Yours faithfully,
Dawn A Holder
