At the time of writing, the full results of the local government elections had not been declared; there were, it is true, quite a number which had been, primary among which was Georgetown. Nevertheless, from what is known already certain general conclusions can be drawn. The first is that the AFC, forced to row its own boat on this occasion, will as a consequence be constrained to confront its limitations as a political force. In No. 47 Village, Corentyne – Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan’s natal village – and surrounding areas, for example, the PPP/C had significant gains. The same pattern was also repeated in the Whim/Bloomfield community from which Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo derives. If nothing else this has implications for the party’s long-term future, given that these two politicians are the flag-bearers for the AFC in Indian areas.
It has to be conceded, however, that this development was by no means unanticipated, any more than was the resurgence of the PPP/C, which benefited from the diminishment of the AFC both in No. 47 and in Whim/Bloomfield, and no doubt in other constituencies too. One has to assume that disaffected members of the first-named party who had experimented with the AFC either in the national election of 2015 or the local government election of 2016 had changed their perceptions of the political options. Last week Leader of the PPP Bharrat Jagdeo sounded quite elated when he claimed “massive” wins for the PPP at the local government elections. On the basis of what is known at the point of writing, his exuberance is almost certainly not misplaced.
In particular, he singled out Georgetown, as well he might, given that it is an APNU stronghold, and that after some appalling treatment by the PPP/C over two decades its residents had made sure it did not rebound in 2016. But memories are short in politics. This time around the PPP won three constituencies and four proportional representation seats in the capital.
Mr Jagdeo told a press conference that the difference between APNU and the PPP/C was over 54,000 votes, and the difference between the PPP/C and the AFC was over 113,000 votes. “If that is not an indication of the massive defeat this government and its partners have suffered at Monday’s elections, then nothing is,” we quoted him as saying.
For all of that the capital will continue under the control of APNU, which managed to obtain 21 of its 30 seats, as against the PPP/C’s seven. As for the AFC, it only managed to hang on to two seats. In addition, the PPP/C succeeded in doubling its PR seats because the heavyweight Independents did not fight this election in GT. In fact, there was a dramatic decline in the number of votes for Independents across the city’s eight constituencies; they were only able to command 1,323 ballots in total. As we reported on November 14, it was in the First Past The Post segment that the biggest surprises came: in that component the PPP won three constituency seats, two of which had been won by APNU+AFC in 2016.
What was also noteworthy, was the fact that in Georgetown, at least, turn-out was down. According to official results given by Returning Officer Duarte Hetsberger, 28,868 of the city’s 119,734 eligible electors exercised their franchise. In 2016 the figure was 41,924 out of a total of 112,364. Transformed into percentage terms, that means that only 28.3% of the registered voters went to cast their ballots this time, as opposed to 37.3% who did so in 2016. The case of the capital allows commentators to draw some inferences for those constituencies alone, until figures for the whole country are released.
The dissatisfactions in Georgetown are well known of course, more particularly the whole parking meter story, and the antics associated with the Town Clerk with some help from the Mayor and others. For all of that Patricia Chase-Green was given a resounding endorsement by her constituency of Tucville-North Ruimveldt, receiving 2,212 votes, the largest number for any single candidate. It was however down on her 2016 figure, which was 3,683 votes.
Mr Jagdeo had already come to his own conclusions about the reasons for the electorate’s disillusionment with Georgetown’s local government, but it is not too far to seek. He wasted no time homing in on the parking meter fiasco, and assured the public that PPP/C councillors “will vote against any attempt to resurrect any parking meter contract.” He also told the media that “We are going in with an agenda… I will talk to our councillors to push these things.” Their focus would be, he said, on accountability (among other things) by insisting on annual audited statements, public tendering for works and matters of that ilk. It might be observed that he did not, however, have anything to say about the restoration of the City Hall building, more especially since a good part of its dereliction occurred under his watch.
In general terms, the assumptions which lie behind his ‘agenda’ for Georgetown are probably not mistaken. Many voters, are disillusioned, hence the low turnout, and there is little faith that the Independents have either the quality or the clout to impose themselves on the reality that is the Horseshoe table. In other words, local government is still in the grip of the traditional parties, and one suspects that party politics pervades constituencies throughout the country.
It seems that Georgetown was not the only municipality where the PPP/C made inroads. According to Mr Jagdeo on Wednesday, his party won eight of the twelve Mabaruma seats, when they had tied with APNU in 2016, and six seats in Lethem against APNU’s four. They won all seats in Anna Regina and Corriverton, and six of the seven in Rose Hall, after winning only five in 2016. More interestingly, they gained a constituency seat in New Amsterdam and a seat in Linden. There were other successes for the party too.
Even if we are still mired in party politics, there are still some lessons here for the big players. The PPP/C learnt its first lesson in 2015 and then in certain constituencies in 2016; now it is APNU and the AFC’s turn – although the lessons are different for each of them. Political progress may be painfully slow in this part of the universe, but it would be a mistake to believe that it is not possible at all.
