It is my opinion that the PPP wants Surujbally out

Oct 27, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

There was an explosive exchange between GECOM’s Chairman, Dr. Surujbally and President Jagdeo not so long ago. Now, Dr. Luncheon took some subtle digs at the chairman over the failed attempt to scuttle GECOM’s voter education programme.
The voter education is worrying to the PPP. The process works more in favour of opposition constituencies than in the countryside where the PPP picks up its persistent majority.
In the rural areas there are PPP, GAWU, pro-PPP NDCs and RPA (Rice Producers Association) outlets all over the place. Mention should be made, too, of the political roles of the mosques and temples in Berbice and Essequibo. These organizations do the voter education rounds for the PPP. It does not need GECOM to instill awareness among countryside voters.
Making things simple for the PPP is the closely knit ambience of rural existence. Once you go in a village and announce that registration is on and the place of activity is Mr. Singh’s pharmacy, then the news will reach every villager and all villagers know where Mr. Singh’s pharmacy is. The truth of rustic life is that voter education is an uncomplicated process and this simplicity benefits the PPP enormously.
In Georgetown, a stultified voted education bandwagon can devastate all opposition parties in or out of Parliament. Georgetown is a large district with a huge population. Voter education is a requirement in Georgetown and parts of Region 4 that are in close physical proximity to Georgetown, if a country is to empower its people to register and cast their ballots.
Urban life is the opposite of pastoral residency. Nothing happens in the countryside. From work to home to the television set or the books then bed. The reason for this serenity is commonsensical – you don’t have malls, fast food chains, nightclubs, sophisticated restaurants, pool halls, sports complexes, fashion shows, etc., in the countryside.
People in urban centres are not as domesticated as their rural counterparts. To be added to this description is the fact that many buildings in Georgetown are not known as in the countryside. In a village, everybody knows where teacher Martha’s school is. Try telling someone in Princes Street, Wortmanville where Mr. Jones’s pharmacy is on South Road.
The PPP boys are not stupid. They know that urban people are more perambulating and on the move than in the countryside, so GECOM’s voter education train will be on the tracks bringing knowledge to the vast numbers in Region 4 about voting procedures in next year’s election.
The intention despite Luncheon’s protestations was to stop the widespread media advertisements on voter education in Region 4. It backfired for two reasons. One is, Chairman Surujbally is a no-nonsense man who is not going to be persuaded to wear racial or political spectacles. Secondly, despite its infertilities, the PNC will see red if elections are tampered with. Election tampering may be the last straw for the PNC. The derailment of voter education has not succeeded. What next?
The pressure on Surujbally will be relentless. The PPP wants a delay in the 2011 election for three reasons. I explained two of these in a column last week. I will repeat them. The last one first, since that was not mentioned before. The longer the postponement the greater the chances of a third term configuration. The other two are related to uncertainties about victory.
The Jagans are not there and young people are not enarmoured with the PPP’s presidential hopefuls. There is an increasing build-up of tension among the king-makers that the present group of contenders may not be attractive enough to pull off a victory. Secondly, the younger generation, who are in the majority, may finally cause a seismic shift in power
The hope is that the election can be postponed if Surujbally is pressured into leaving. Under the Carter formula, the opposition parties will have to find his replacement. The PPP, sensing an expanding line of division among the opposition parties, feels that they will not be able to achieve consensus and a delay will be inevitable.
The PPP is banking on a drawn-out search because there will be few takers given the ubiquity of fear in the land. Also to be added to this scenario will be a stubborn resistance by the President to the opposition point man, if they are able to find him/her. All kinds of accusations will be made against that individual. The trouble that the PPP is not thinking of is that Surujbally isn’t going anywhere. So other stratagems will have to be invented in achieving the postponement.

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It is my opinion that the PPP wants Surujbally out

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