Dear Editor,
Contesting in this election is a coalition between the AFC and the APNU under what first of all is too long a name.
Mr Moses Nagamootoo as prime minister will not have appeal for African voters. After Mr David Granger, he would be next in line for the presidency. One of the main reasons John McCain lost to Barack Obama was because of his running mate. McCain was old and the people were not ready to see a weak person like Sarah Palin as the next in line for the presidency.
Mr Nagamootoo will not gain Indo-Guyanese votes either. While the PPP/C will lose more votes on May 11 from its Indian supporters, the coalition will not gain them. The coalition was better off as two separate parties. Having a minority government was the best thing that ever happened in Guyana politics. It took over 20 years to get there and now we are back to a winner-takes-all position.
Voter apathy was cited as one of the reasons for the PPP/C losing the parliament in 2011. However, what happens when apathy is no longer towards a party but the entire political system? In 1992 voter turnout was 81%; in 1997 voter turnout was 88.42%; in 2001 it was 91.73%; in 2006, 68.82%; while in 2011 it was 72.89%. It was an increase which the PPP/C did not gain from. I expect that voter turnout will this time hit a staggering low. The question is, where do Guyanese see themselves in elections 15 years from now? Would we have lost so much confidence in our political system that it really doesn’t matter any more? It is quite ironic when the opposition is talking about no confidence and the Guyanese are losing confidence in the entire political system.
Voting in Guyana is very personal. We are a young country. Before America prospered, they had a civil war. I believe that Guyana needs a common enemy in order for its people to work together.
The coalition doesn’t have much on the PPP/C except corruption, but that is not a good enough enemy for the people to vote against. What will the coalition do? Build roads? The PPP/C did that and is still doing it. Build schools? The PPP/C did that. Build healthcare? The PPP/C did that. What will the coalition do that the PPP/C has not done to get voters to change?
I think that in the absence of rotation in government due to policies, the next best situation is for a minority government. The coalition is a terribly premature roll of the dice.
Yours faithfully,
Surendra Dhanpaul
