The general direction of my last two columns has been that as things stand, the most likely outcome of the coming general election – whenever it happens and if the major political parties go to the polls individually – is that the PPP/C will obtain sufficient votes to be returned to government, i.e. that politically, nothing will necessarily change.
If we wish to improve upon our unenviable status as one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean anytime soon, we must at the very least rid ourselves of that constitutional yoke called plurality that gives government to the party that obtains the greatest number of votes at a general election. As things stand, our best hope of achieving this would be for the major opposition parties to find a mechanism to participate in the election with a common slate.
I have suggested that at a minimum they can commit themselves to a temporary alliance of convenience to contest the coming general election, with a joint programme of action that focuses upon making the requisite constitutional changes.
Since I intend to suggest some of the fundamental changes I believe necessary, I also provided an explanation of my understanding