Life after the elections

Nov 29, 2011 Editorial

The die has been cast; the people have voted. For certain there will be a new Head of State because President Bharrat Jagdeo has completed his two terms in office and is not eligible for re-election.
The election was contested on three platforms—achievements, the need for change and an end to corruption. The incumbent insisted that it has done more than enough to be re-elected. It pointed to the new constructions and to the fact that it secured massive debt write-offs.
However, the opposition contended that corruption was rife, that money that could have gone to development has gone into the pockets of the leaders and their cronies. At the same time, according to the opposition, the working people have to carry an unconscionable burden. They have to pay a value added tax of sixteen per cent on just about every purchase.
The people came out of their homes from very early because they wanted to get their votes cast and get on with their lives. In Georgetown the crush was on because traditionally the main opposition party held sway over the city. This time the drive was for change because people were saying that they could not take another five years. But then again, they had been saying this for as long as many could remember.
By now some of the results from polling stations would have been coming in and the voters across the spectrum would be hoping that their candidate would come out ahead. There will be some disappointment but the extent of our maturity would be determined by how we cope with our disappointment.
In the past we have been known to take to the streets, such was our hostility that we almost ripped the country apart. After a while good sense prevailed. We recognized when the veil was lifted from our eyes, that we needed each other to survive in this country. We feed off each other.
And so it is that the end of this season should see us accepting whatever the polls reveal. But we must expect some change. The new government owes it to us to allay our fears about our security. We are an ethnically insecure people and for this reason we vote for people who appear to look more like we do. This is called ethnic preference.
We saw the young escorting the old to the places of poll; we saw the determination by people to cast their ballot and we heard their conversation. We saw the political machinery at work and at the end of the day there were the aberrations.
These aberrations came about because of the suspicions we harbour about our opponents. The minute we see an opponent in our neighbourhood we become suspicious. Yesterday, opposing candidates entered polling places and spurred sections of the crowd to anger based on suspicion. To compound the issue the opposing candidate was equally confrontational.
Had it not been for good sense things could have escalated; people could have been hurt and the electoral system tainted.
Having voted, the system now should be on moving the country forward. It is about building on what is there. In some cases contracts may have to be revisited because they appear to be questionable. That means that they would have to be reviewed.
But there are other issues that need to be addressed. For example, there have been numerous cases of young people graduating from tertiary institutions and unable to find jobs. There are reports of people of one ethnic origin being given preference in job performances. This must change. Even the case of people graduating with adequate results from a secondary institute and failing to find jobs in keeping with their training is another issue that has to be addressed.
But for these things to happen there must be a trust in the system and some faith in the people elected to lead. But they, the leaders, must demonstrate their magnanimity and lead for the entire country.

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Life after the elections

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