Nothing should stand in the way of a country’s holding of general elections. It is by far the most important symbol of the democratic way of life which we hold dear. There are those who would make the same argument for Christmas pointing out in the process that it is the most significant holiday season of the year. And yet the anxiety and uncertainty that characterized the wait for the results of the 2011 general elections and which appears to have been anticipated by traders and consumers alike suggests – not for the first time – that we may wish to consider whether the two should be located so close together.
From around the middle of last week there were signs that the city was preparing for a nervous hiatus between the final outcome of the poll and the start of the wave of commercial activity that usually attends Christmas and they appeared far from pleased with the prospect.
Not that the Guyanese populace are unmindful of the importance of general elections, but when this newspaper spoke with traders and consumers last week the prevailing view appeared to be that the general elections were ill-timed in that at the very least they would put a brake on preparations for the season. The private sector too appeared to be of the same view and, perhaps, understandably so. A few lost trading days during what is by far the highest spending period of the year makes a significant difference to earnings and that applies in equal measure to ordinary vendors who, like the established businesses, decided that they would stay off the streets.
On the other hand there are those who might argue that by setting an election date close to Christmas, an incentive might be provided for those involved in that process to expedite it as quickly as possible so that sufficient time can be allowed for the observance of the season. While we did enjoy a Christmas of sorts after the 2002 demonstrations, the street demonstrations that preceded the season served as a timely reminder that issues of politics, including particularly, general elections are often not as uncomplicated as we would wish them to be.
By late Tuesday with no word having emerged from Gecom regarding the final result of the poll, some were drawing a parallel between events in Guyana and those in St Lucia. Both countries held their general elections on the same day. And while it is fair to say that the logistics of vote-counting are, for many reasons, far more complicated in Guyana than in St Lucia, the point was made, nonetheless, that by a few hours after the close of poll in our sister Caricom territory the whole affair had been done and dusted. That apart and from all reports elections in St Lucia passed quietly and without the tension and worry associated with the event here. In other countries there is usually hardly the need for public holidays, additional police presence and the various other security mechanisms which we hasten to put in place once elections day approaches. More than that there have been cases in which people, perhaps small numbers, but some people anyway, give up their right to vote and slip away from the Republic to monitor the proceedings from a distance, returning only when they become convinced that the whole affair is concluded. No amount of assurance that all will be well changes their minds. The reasons for these forms of behaviour, sadly, have to do with the disease of elections-related controversy with which Guyana is afflicted and for which we appear to have no cure.
It is certainly not to Guyana’s credit that both traders and consumers appear to have come to associate general elections with interludes of lost sales, temporary unavailability of goods and services and worry over possible damage to property and even loss of life associated with the process. Last week’s ‘run’ on commercial banks, supermarkets and stores by consumers seeking to guard against the likelihood that for a few days at least trading would cease bore an uncanny resemblance to people preparing for an emergency. It was, in some respects, a disturbing sight.
The great irony of the situation is that, for different reasons, both consumers and traders are important stakeholders in the electoral process since the outcome of that process impacts on their lives and their fortunes in different ways. That is why it is regrettable that we simply cannot seem to shed the perception that elections can bring consequences that we might wish to avoid by making way for it as though it were some sort of runaway train.
