Dear Editor,
The impasse following the March 2 elections has seen renewed calls for shared governance and constitutional reform by coalition sympathizers. This was also recently articulated by President Granger who failed to embrace or take any meaningful action on both fronts during his presidency. So why the sudden shift in position? Given everything that has happened since March 2, the APNU+AFC knows that if fresh elections are held tomorrow or in the foreseeable future, they do not stand a remote chance of winning under a free, fair, and transparent process. This is because they have lost all social capital.
The importance of social capital cannot be overstated. It is the invisible glue of relationships and networks that holds social, economic, and political life together in any country. In Guyana’s context, this is even more important given our multi-ethnic society and delicate political landscape. In its most elementary form, social capital boils down to trust and there seems to be a shortage when it comes to the APNU+AFC.
Given the APNU+AFC’s narrow victory at the 2015 polls, building trust was paramount to its ability to govern successfully and entertain any notion of reelection. Instead, the APNU+AFC followed a deleterious and divisive course repeatedly betraying the trust of the Guyanese people in the process. In five short years, their highhandedness coupled with the stench of corruption has eroded public trust to such an extent that centrist leaning Guyanese withdrew their support in the March 2 elections.
If that did not do the trick, certainly the events following the elections suggest that the APNU+AFC has become so morally bankrupt, that whatever little trust remained has all but dissipated. In recent weeks, the draining of the public purses while dishonestly holding onto public office has also resulted in public discontent. And their latest attempt to discredit the March 2 elections in yet another desperate attempt to hold onto power has further destroyed their credibility. While one columnist noted that “no one in this world should trust David Granger”, in reality, no one in the world should trust the APNU+AFC, even under a shared governance arrangement.
Furthermore, it is only conceivable that the APNU+AFC has lost the confidence of the business community. Like so many stakeholders, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) has been critical of the government and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and has repeatedly called for credible election results. Similar sentiments have been expressed by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI). With Guyana’s economy remaining in purgatory, the business community continues to suffer, only to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is no secret that the APNU+AFC’s relationship with the international community has also deteriorated following the various attempts to rig the March 2 elections. They have burnt many bridges in the process and claims of interference have only strengthened the resolve of the foreign missions to ensure a transparent and credible outcome. The denial of the Carter Center’s request to return to oversee the recount under the guise of public health concerns has further fueled distrust and made a bad situation worse. Regardless of the thought process, APNU+AFC should not expect any sympathy from the international community anytime soon.
This brings us back to the question of why the sudden interest in shared governance and constitutional reform? After all, they had ample time and opportunity to make this happen. The APNU+AFC knows that given the direction of the recount and the destruction of social capital outlined above, anything short of shared governance and constitutional reform will consign it to the political wilderness for many years to come under the current system.
For the APNU+AFC, the road to overcoming the self-inflicted distrust begins with the unconditional and swift acceptance of the recount results. However, it will require a lot more than this gesture to repair the damage and convince a wider cross-section of Guyanese to support them in the future. And while the APNU+AFC’s calls for shared governance and constitutional reform is a day late and a dollar short, the next government must nevertheless reach across the political divide and aggressively pursue political and economic inclusion or suffer a similar fate as the APNU+AFC.
Yours faithfully,
Omchand Mahdu
