It is time we resist voting on racial grounds

May 26, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I refer to an article in your daily newspaper on 13th May, 2010 under the headlined ‘Guyanese voters must judge their ruling politicians harshly’ written by University of Guyana Professor and Political Analyst Mr. Fredrick Kissoon.
We should not be amazed of Mr. Kissoon’s article calling on Guyanese voters to judge their ruling politicians harshly before casting their votes at the polling station on Election Day since this has been the call from every citizen in every corner in our society for the past 18 years. However,  I was not  surprised but I was rather in disbelief when Mr. Kissoon once again took the opportunity in his editorial column on 13th May, 2010 to remind East Indian voters ahead of the 2011 general election to bear in mind three important political occurrences that have fantastic implication for the future of politics in the US, UK and the Caribbean and when East Indian voters examine these phenomena, they must then take a quiet moment in front of the mirror and ask themselves if they believe in progress and modernization If they answer that question in the affirmative they must then act to save the future of Guyana.
I am now convinced why Mr. Kissoon mentioned in his editorial column in the newspaper on 24 January, 2010 that the East Indian voters need to tell the PPP, that they chose them for four consecutive elections and they didn’t perform, didn’t keep their promises, and didn’t do anything for their country.
East Indian voters have to tell the PPP no more power after the 2011 general elections, since it appears to me that ethnic voting lies among the majority of East Indian voters in our society today. I am sure that you will agree with me that if it wasn’t so, political analyst like Mr. Kissoon would have called on every Guyanese from all walks of life such as Amerindians, Chinese, Africans and Europeans to resist on voting in future elections on racial grounds instead only to East Indian in our society to judge their ruling politicians harshly before casting their votes in future elections.
I truly believe political analyst Mr. Kissoon  was right  when he   stated in his letter on 24 January, 2010 that the Alliance for Change (AFC) political party that contests its general election at the 2006 poll that the party only received six seats in parliament of which the majority of their votes came from African-Guyanese, while on the other hand, the majority of East Indians voters simply stuck with the PPP,  since  the records from the 2006 general elections are there to prove that the majority of young voters, especially  African Guyanese were prepared to vote against the PNC party at the 2006 election,  while the majority of East Indians voters simply stuck with the PPP as  University of Guyana Professor Mr. Fredrick Kissoon rightly stated. I do hope that former PNC Member Raphael Trotman was paying attention and will now come forward and tell the nation what he have leant from the 2006 election results.
However, we do not need a political analyst or a scholar to tell us that some people in our society have been voting on racial grounds for the past 18 years when we can see it with our own eyes since 1992. However,  the  2006 elections result records are there to prove to anyone that the majority of young voters predominantly young African voters did not support the PNC party at the last general elections, while others remain voting on racial grounds which has been the case following the 1992 elections in Guyana.
It is time we as a nation take our destiny into our own hands and resist voting in future elections on racial grounds and vote for change if they believe in real progress and modernization. I am sure by voting beyond racial grounds we as a nation will once again enjoy a free education from nursery to university, having a better standard of living, enjoy free health care once more, having a better salary and most importantly live, work and socialise together in peace, love and comfort with each other as one people, one nation and one destiny come after the 2011 general election.
Finally, I wish to say that for our nation to achieve this goals it requires a new breed of politicians who will be more concerned with nation building rather than self enrichment and that is why we need someone like that of Mr. Winston Murray for Presidential candidate and the Honourably Ms.Vanessa Kissoon as the Prime Minister Candidate to be elected, contest and win the next general election.
Only then will we see real change in this nation’s fortunes and a commitment to genuine nation building and a brighter future for all Guyanese. Vote for real change in 2011.
Rayvonne P. Bourne

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