AFC Musical Chairs?

Nov 03, 2010 Editorial

The news that Mr Raphael Trotman has declined his party’s nomination to be considered for the Prime Ministerial candidacy in tandem with Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, who had secured the Presidential spot, has inevitably set (political) tongues wagging. Mr Trotman’s asseveration that he demurred for health and (unstated) personal reasons has only served to heighten the speculations.
Guyanese, after all, are justifiably very cynical about the political process in general and politicians in particular. With ambitions and inflated egos tearing apart the independence movement before it had taken root; race exploited to catapult politicians into power; collusion with foreign fomentation of ethnic riots to secure compliant governments and rigging of elections to stay in power… how could Guyanese be otherwise?
The AFC had, as a matter of fact, been launched specifically, according to Messrs Trotman and Ramjattan (sounds like a law firm but they never did team up outside of the political arena) to change the old, discredited politics. The centrepiece of the change was to be the organisational innovation (introduced some time ago by the WPA) of rotating their party’s candidates for the Presidential and Prime Ministerial positions between the two leaders who had respectively departed from the old, behemoths, the PNC and PPP. That Mr Trotman was of African descent and Mr Ramjattan, Indian, was posited as addressing the major ethnic divisions in the society, which had paralysed its politics – and development. The rotation, then, was critical – representing as it purportedly did, the absence of the overweening ambitions that had been at the core of the “old politics”.
The device of placing leaders from the several ethnic constituencies to head local political parties had been introduced from the beginning – represented, most famously by Dr Jagan and Mr Burnham. Whether it was fortuitous or not, the ethnic origins of Mr Trotman and Mr Ramjattan together with their declared commitment to rotation, gave them the credence that they were serious about the symbolism (at least) of who “ruled”.
There were, however, several concerns that were raised very early on by some commentators. If, it was asked, Mr Trotman as the Presidential candidate was able to attract most of the voters in their first (and impressive) outing from the traditional PNC’s base, would Mr Ramjattan be able to reciprocate in their second try in 2011, from the PPP’s core constituency?
The premise, of course, was that Mr Trotman would have been at his side, and Mr Ramjattan would have been able to assure the skittish Indian bloc that it was not only their votes that were being “split”. With Mr Trotman out of the top rungs, the argument if not vitiated, is severely weakened with Mrs. Sheila Holder’s elevation to the second spot. While the latter is undoubtedly very hardworking and emblematic of high integrity, it cannot be gainsaid that Mr Trotman had earned a wider recognition and acceptance at large.
But the dilemma now exposed, was always immanent in the “rotation” principle as it would be operationalised within the larger principle of democracy in the party. This clash of principles was exposed earlier this year when some suggested that Mr Trotman might be the better candidate and another member of the AFC threw his hat into their presidential nomination sweepstakes. The latter bid exposed the serendipity of the ethnic background of the principals. What would happen, say, if the popular candidates were both from the same ethnic group or if the membership democratically chose Mr Trotman or the other member? As it is, murmurs of “selection” rather than “election” are now being heard.
Mr Trotman’s demurral on grounds of health has now unfortunately torpedoed his chances of entering the fray at some later time in the AFC – as the suspicions that he just did not want to “serve” under Mr Ramjattan would inevitably surface. Be as it may, we now have a female in the upper rungs of a significant party in the upcoming elections. We hope her energetic and focused campaign will dull some of the cynicism of the jaded electorate.

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