TIME FOR OUR POLITICAL PARTIES TO SHOW THEY ARE MATURED

Oct 07, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The defacing of the PPP’s billboards is an ominous sign that there are forces bent on causing problems in this year’s elections. This recent disagreeable incident follows closely on the heels of an orchestrated effort in which messages were scrawled on the roadways on the morning of September 16.
The defacing of the billboards and the scrawling of negative signs on public roadways, critical of President Jagdeo, form part of organized efforts. But it cannot at this stage be determined if both incidents were the work of the same forces.
GECOM has, according to reports, made attempts at having a code of conduct for political parties and while no fingers have been pointed, it would be advisable if all the contesting parties can agree on a clean campaign in so far as billboards and ads are concerned. If the political will exists, then this commitment can be extended to the actual content of speeches and the general conduct of election campaigning.
There were two other ugly incidents also. Two meetings of the ruling People’s Progressive Party were disturbed by hecklers. While it may be asking too much for an incident-free campaign, given the tensions that usually arise at elections time and the fact that these tensions may be exploited by forces intent on trouble, it would be good if all the political parties commit to a code of conduct related to their electioneering.
While the signature of such a code may not necessarily constrain those bent on trouble-making, it would isolate them. There will be the usual ribbing between politicians, but political parties should encourage their supporters to desist from disrupting the political meetings of other parties, because this can lead to provocation which can escalate into problems.
Another major concern is the defacing and destruction of billboards. All the parties should join themselves to a public statement or code committing to not deface the posters and billboards of other parties.
There are laws, of course, against the pasting of posters in public places. At election time, these laws are ignored and most political parties try to get up their posters, especially on utility poles. This leads to an eyesore after elections.
As far as possible, the political parties should avoid disfiguring public places and other buildings with posters. If posters are erected they should be done, as the PPP has done in some instances, using material which can be taken down at the end of the elections. The various local government bodies are going to have to spend large sums of money removing the tens of thousands of posters that are pasted up around the country.
If the political parties cannot reach agreement to desist from personal attacks on other candidates, they should at least try to keep dirty politics from disfiguring the physical environment. As such all the parties should meet and agree to avoid pasting up material which cannot be taken down easily. The use of textile instead of paper should be considered.
Secondly, the parties should agree to issue a joint declaration discouraging heckling and disruption at other parties’ meetings. This is not a healthy development and it can have adverse spin-off effects such as leading to provocation.
The presidential candidates of the three main parties are all persons who are intelligent and well- intentioned. They all have a deep concern for Guyana and would not want these elections to descend into ugly incidents, because at the end of the elections, all of the three main parties will most likely be in the National Assembly making their respective contributions to democratic debate.
It would be a powerful message that would enjoy the support of the Guyanese people if all the political parties can at least find some common understanding on the thorny issue of billboards, posters and the undisturbed holding of meetings. It would also demonstrate political maturity on the part of the political parties.

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