Dear Editor,
Our politicians in Guyana need to emulate the political behaviour of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard of the Labour Party. Opinion polls showed her going down to defeat to the Conservatives in the next general elections in October. Her supporters, obviously wanting to avoid a defeat, urged her to put herself before party members once again for validity. She lost 55-45%, and like a genuine democrat, she stepped down from office.
Gillard was defeated by her detractor and challenger Kevin Rudd whom she replaced as Prime Minister four years ago in a similar vote when polls showed Rudd going down to defeat to the Conservatives. Rudd challenged her again late last year in a special vote and lost badly.
But this year, her poll numbers have seen a decline and party stalwarts feared an impending defeat unless she was replaced. Party members were moving away from her. She was encouraged to hold a special vote to renew her validity. Guyanese politicians have seen their poll numbers decline since the November 2011 elections from findings of surveys I conducted last year July and last May. Several of the politicians are very unpopular. Voters don’t want some of them. They should follow the Gillard precedent and put themselves before party members for re-validition and they should allow a free, honest, unimpeachable system of voting open to all members and not just a privileged few.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
