Alliances and the 2011 elections

Aug 13, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Mr. Denis Chabrol has quoted me on his current page of demerarawaves.com as saying that the AFC, before it contemplates election alliances, should demand other parties take urgent steps to overhaul their image.
This was one of several statements I made and though I would not disagree with Mr. Chabrol’s description, I really meant the PNC in its present form. The event was the WPA’s public invitation to citizens, last Wednesday, to discuss the shape of alliance politics in the light of the AFC’s rejection of a pre-election coalition with the PNC.
I will return to my contribution at that forum, but readers should note that Mr. Chabrol also quoted AFC executive member, Michael Carrington, as telling the gathering that the AFC should accept an election relationship with the PNC. What was missing from Mr. Chabrol’s report was that Carrington’s position is that for the AFC to enter into a formation with the PNC there must be substantial changes in the PNC’s leadership.
Mr. Carrington would have no problem in being quoted, therefore, he told me if the AFC’s election embrace of the PNC is to come true, then Mr. Corbin should leave the PNC’s leadership.
I now return to my thesis as adumbrated at the meeting and to elaborate on the quote that Mr. Chabrol provided. Dr. David Hinds, at the head table on Wednesday, mixed up two distinct phases of political evolution in Guyana when he criticized the AFC’s stance. David traced the rich history of alliances, particularly in the seventies and eighties. But back then the dynamics and goals were different. That was a period where energies were centered on electoral democracy. At the moment, the energy is directed to winning power in a free vote. The two epochs then had different reasons for existence.
I voted for the AFC the last time. I am not sure how I will vote this time but I know I am voting against the PPP and I will ask thousands of my fellow Guyanese to do so. I haven’t been impressed with the contents of the AFC’s praxis as a collective group and I don’t think the AFC should believe that it has covered enough ground that will cause it to be overwhelmed by the electorate. To date, however, it is the only party that has adumbrated a strategy to win votes in the forthcoming election.
The AFC’s position is not as implausible as those at the head table (particularly Clive Thomas and David Hinds) made it out to be. It was Dr. Rishi Thakur who offered an explanation from a Berbician perspective. He told the attendees that in Berbice, the perception (shaped by the PPP) exists that the AFC is a PNC-front designed by Raphael Trotman. To form a pre-coalition with the PNC would institutionalize that psychology, thus weakening the electoral prospects of the party (I hope I have summarized Dr. Thakur correctly). I repeat, even Carrington who wants an AFC-PNC electoral association has put a condition in – that he wants a PNC without Mr. Corbin.
Both Thakur and Carrington are talking about strategies. Let us repeat for emphasis what Thakur and Carrington are actually saying. The former contends that an AFC-PNC coalition will hurt the AFC in Berbice. The latter is saying the AFC’s electoral image will not be enhanced with Mr. Corbin in the merger.
All that means is that strategy-wise, the AFC has spelt out how it wants to enter the election. Without being harsh on Messrs. Thomas and Hinds, I think they were looking at the imperative of coalition, without an examination of what each party will bring to the marriage.
Why are people going to vote against the PPP? In that answer you have to look at a mountain of variables and prioritize them. Will the pre-election coalition include Mr. C.N. Sharma? Will he cause your ballots to swell or will you lose votes? Is there an intention to include Joey Jagan? If there is, then the leadership of the PNC, AFC, GAP, and the WPA should listen to the tape where Jagan appeared on Tuesday evening on benschopradio.com and said words that should never come out of the mouth of a Guyanese politician.
Jagan declared that if he becomes president, he would deport Guyana-born citizens that criticize his father, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. So what is the point? If you are going into an election with partners, those partners have to bring in votes not cause you to lose the battle. Who or what is the PNC at the moment? Does it still have a large electoral base?

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