Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

MEMORIAM TO POWER-SHARING

Mar 06, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Once the Alliance For Change (AFC) did not jump immediately into a coalition with the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) it became very doubtful whether the main opposition party would have any need for coalition politics. That the Working People’s Alliance did not have the foresight to see this is surprising, given its claim that one of the values it can bring to the political culture in Guyana is its intellectual contribution.
The WPA is hoping to join with some other political party in order to squeeze whatever political credibility it has left. It is no longer a party that can go to the polls alone; it does not have the cadres, the financial resources or the political support to face the electorate alone. As such, its role has been to piggyback on the support of other political parties, as it did some time ago with the Guyana Action Party.
Even if the PNCR believes that it needs to have a broad-based coalition, why would it wish to join forces with the Working People’s Alliance? What support will the WPA bring to the PNCR? How many votes will it win? It may not even be able to win a single seat, and therefore, why would the PNCR want to align with that party?
The WPA seems to have forgotten that the PNCR is the largest opposition party in Guyana. The WPA needs the PNCR. The PNCR does not need the WPA or any of the miniscule political parties in Guyana.
The PNCR has had a bad record with coalitions. After the fallout from the 1964 post-election coalition where the PNC wanted to dominate all aspects of the government, the then leader of the PNC, Forbes Burnham, said that he would never again lead his party into any coalition.
Despite this, during the last elections, the PNCR assembled a motley coalition and called it the PNCR-ONE GUYANA. It was a rather confusing arrangement because for all intents and purposes the parties that it included to form the grouping were simply making up numbers. They could not have brought any substantial votes to the PNCR, in the same way that the Civic component of the PPP has brought nothing.
The only real party that the PNCR can see as helpful in its chance to win the election is the Alliance For Change. But that party is not interested in a pre-election coalition with either the PNCR or the PPP, because that party was formed as an alternative to the PPP and PNCR.
It sees itself as a Third Force capable of holding the balance of power. The last coalition that sought to become a Third Force ended up becoming a spent force. But the AFC has a good chance in the new parliament of holding the balance of power. And that is likely to give it more power and influence than being part of a coalition.
In the case of the PNCR, the only justifiable reason why that party would therefore need to have a coalition would be for window dressing purposes. But this is not likely to happen this year because the PNCR is no doubt smarting from its humiliating performance in the 2006 elections, and therefore would want to consolidate and rebuild its support base.
The WPA on the other hand is hoping to put together a collection of civil society groupings as part of a broad coalition. As regards this proposal, the WPA is out of touch with reality. The groupings that it is hoping to put together are not going to get involved in politics. Plain and simple, the WPA is dreaming if it feels that it can successfully, at this stage, pull together such an arrangement, and the PNCR is not likely to waste its energies and resources in going down this track.
This is a different time and the politics is different. The young generation is looking for different solutions to the ones that the PNCR and WPA are offering. The young generation is looking beyond power-sharing; looking towards energetic, sharp leaders who are go-getters, who are in touch with the modern world, who can twit and tweet. These young people may not be creating change as is happening in other parts of the world, but they are enjoying their youth in Guyana which is having its best economic years ever. Power sharing and coalition are far from their minds.
The PNCR leader once said, you have to have power to share it. Power sharing is dead in Guyana. And if power sharing is dead, then coalition politics has already been buried. If the WPA cannot see this, then perhaps, too, it has become an extinct grouping.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional boxing

Keevin Allicock – the next torchbearer for Guyanese professional...

Dec 31, 2024

By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports- In the rich tapestry of Guyanese sports, few names shine as brightly as Keevin Allicock. A prodigious talent with the rare blend of skill, charisma, and grit, Allicock...
Read More
Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for 2025 CWI Regional Four-Day Tournament

Guyana Harpy Eagles begin Fitness Preparation for...

Dec 31, 2024

The business end has arrived, a place in the final is at stake tomorrow night

The business end has arrived, a place in the...

Dec 31, 2024

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”

Thirteen-year-old benefits from Project...

Dec 31, 2024

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind Drakes 5 goal spree, Botafago humble Capital Fc 8-3

Milerock stop Winners Connection 9-3 behind...

Dec 31, 2024

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO against Ramirez

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO...

Dec 30, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]