Dear Editor,
As the APNU+AFC folks are busy digging around in graveyards looking for jumbies, David Hinds is feeding flies to the faithful, trying to save face. Kowlasar Misir delivered an excellent response in his missive but I would go a bit further.
Elections are about the democratic rotation of power and rigging is adverse to electoral democracy. All the issues discussed by Mr Hinds have roots in rigged elections by the PNC. Eliminating one or both from the equation would be an ideal solution to many of his concerns.
The claim that the PPP rigged the 1961 elections and the PNC is “painted” as riggers from 68 to 92 is an attempt to rewrite history. The elections in 1961 were conducted under British supervision. Prime Minister Macmillan and President Kennedy had already agreed that Jagan must be defeated in the election. In fact, the Constitution was changed to enable the PNC to win the election. To think that the election was rigged under those circumstances takes a lot of imagination.
By contrast, evidence of rigging by the PNC is overwhelming. The reports of the 303 Committee and a memorandum by Thomas H. Karamessines, Deputy CIA Director entitled “Plans of Guyana Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, Leader of the People’s National Congress (PNC), to Rig the Elections Scheduled for Late 1968 or Early 1969” might be a good starting point for anyone who cares about facts. Burnham is quoted extensively in those documents as his plan to rig the election is discussed. Here is a sample:
“In a meeting of high level government and People’s National Congress (PNC) leaders [2 or 3 words deleted*] Forbes Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana and leader the PNC, gave instructions to rig the election scheduled for late 1968 or early 1969 in order to permit the PNC to win a clear majority.”
The scheme as described by Burnham himself, was essentially a series of actions to increase the African vote by hook or by crook (but mostly the latter) while suppressing the East Indian vote. It included his plans to register under aged black supporters, locate and register overseas Guyanese of African descent, pad the overseas voters list with false registrations, manipulate absentee voting and abuse proxy voting. At the same time Burnham ordered that registration of East Indian voters should be strictly limited. He is quoted as saying with a smile “East Indians living abroad may have trouble getting registered and, if registered, getting ballots.” It was rigging with a racial overtone.
That ain’t no paint, David. It’s proprietary. Own it.
This leads me to what was referred to as the “underlying ethnic problem.” Burnham created a racial divide when he left the PPP and exploited it to advance his political ambitions. In government, his policies, teachings and his repeated rigging of elections exacerbated the racial divide as Indo Guyanese were shut out of the electoral system for twenty eight years. The indignity of living under an unelected, unaccountable and incompetent PNC government is still fresh in the minds of many Guyanese of all ethnicity. It is not lost on younger Guyanese that rigged elections produced a PNC government that inflicted a host of socioeconomic setbacks, including a brain drain that caused long-term damage to the country.
The Indo Guyanese disdain for the PNC after Burnham lives on. However, it is not a racial animus. It is based on the unflattering record of the PNC in government and its history of rigging elections. It is influenced by the fact that the party has made no serious effort to acknowledge or atone for its past misdeeds. The party is still hitched to Burnham who was divisive in life. It is hard to argue that rigging is all history when history is repeating itself at this very moment.
Walter Rodney proved that the racial divide created by Burnham and the PNC is not insurmountable. He transcended race and received broad based support across ethnic lines. He proved that Indo Guyanese are willing to support a credible black leader of a party other than the PNC. Walter Rodney was assassinated as he was eroding the PNC’s hold on the black vote.
Indo Guyanese voters have demonstrated that they will vote for a credible alternative to the PPP. Some voted against the PPP in 2011 and 2015. However, as long as the PNC, in one form or another, is the alternative, the Indo Guyanese vote will go to the PPP not because of race, but because of the record, reputation and persistent rigging by the PNC. That may give elections the appearance of an ethnic contest but that voting pattern is simply a reflection of the fact that the PNC is the alternative.
The PPP is only as strong as the opposition is weak. A credible opposition will loosen its grip on the electorate. The PNC is not a credible opposition because it cannot win except by rigging. That is the inconvenient truth.
The suggestion that the ABCE countries have taken a side has no basis in fact. The same applies to his comment on sanctions. They have taken a stance against rigging by the PNC-led coalition.
David Hinds failed to connect the dots.
Yours faithfully
Milton Jagannath