The PPP must not cede any more ground

Jan 08, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Sixty years ago, the People’s Progressive Party was formed. It has been subject to trying times over this period, having witnessed the suspension of the Constitution in 1953, ethnic and political conflict in the sixties, being banished into the political wilderness for close to three decades before history smiled kindly on the party and restored it to power in 1992.
Since then it has ruled Guyana for seventeen unbroken years. These years have not been easy. In its first term it was subject to the usual political machinations and unrest. But things took an ugly twist following the 1997 elections when the “slow fyah, mo fyah” campaign was launched against the party. This did not please the political extremists and this was followed after the 2001 election with the most deadly of crime waves and criminal terrorist attacks which saw unprecedented levels of violence.
The PPP has not had it easy as a government. In fact even during the period 1957-64, it was wrecked by the actions of instigators.
Yet it seems that following its historic victory in the 1992 elections, the party underplayed the importance of national unity and since then has felt besieged and thus in no mood to compromise to confront the political question.
The PPP however must acknowledge that it has over the past few years ceded considerable ground to the opposition without staking a claim for any reciprocal benefits. After the elections in 1997 and 2001, constitutional reform has been made and under these arrangements, the PPP has ceded ground in the electoral system whereby now it only has a slim four-seat majority.
The PPP continues to cede ground. The Constitution of Guyana makes no provision for a residency requirement for voting. This was one of the contentious issues and the PNC was able to achieve this goal without a change in the law. With the new house to house registration, there has been an effective residency rule since all those persons who were outside of Guyana and who will not return to have their names included will not be part of the register of registrants and thus would not be able to vote.
There is a positive side to this though. All parties would be able to have an effective gauge of voter turnout without having the numbers distorted because of the high numbers of persons on the list but who were not around to vote on Election Day. With the new house to house registration those numbers would be considerably reduced.
The PPP must acknowledge that it is holding on to a slim political margin. In fact, given the present divisions within the party, all that is needed is for five members of parliament to abstain from voting in order to frustrate the passing of legislation. Those within the PPP leadership who are concerned about the direction of the government should appreciate the value that the party members in the National Assembly hold for the government and should use this as political leverage to wrest concessions from the government in the same way that the opposition has consistently made inroads into the PPP’s parliamentary majority through constitutional reform.
It is not likely that the opposition is ever going to be happy unless it forces the PPP to legislate itself out of a parliamentary majority. The PPP therefore needs to appreciate that while it has failed abysmally to deal with the political question, while its record on political reconciliation and national unity is poor, that it cannot continue to guard against the continuing trend which has led to the anomaly whereby the party is securing more or less the same percentages of votes at each election but its majority is decreasing.
Surely after sixty years, the PPP ought to have developed some ability to stand up and gain ground rather than always having to retreat.

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The PPP must not cede any more ground

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