Rethinking the public space for the combined Opposition in Guyana

Mar 25, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,  
The move to physically locate the office of the leader of the opposition- Mr. David Granger- was a strategic one. It was well thought out, allows for high political standards and has the potential to reshape political interactions not only between the opposition and the people but also the opposition and the ruling PPP/C.
It broke the long weary and ineffective tradition of opposition parties operating from their individual party base. In the past, political opposition in Guyana dropped their anchors within the partisan ports of their party headquarters.
Their work was circumscribed by partisan party politics. All issues were seen from the perspective of the individual party ideology or thinking in which the opposition was embedded.  That placed very serious constraints on the work of the opposition.
People, who wanted nothing to do with an opposition party, could not go to see the opposition leader because there was always the fear of being labeled a member of the opposition. Therefore, the opposition could not reach out to the masses.
However, the move by the combined opposition, to establish an office in the heart of the city away from traditional party base facilitates three vital values to the growth and development of both the opposition and democracy in Guyana.
First, it allows the opposition greater reach to the masses. At the last elections one hundred and seventy five people did not vote for the PPP/C: More citizens voted for the combined opposition than the government.
This is an important point because it speaks to the high level of confidence Guyanese have reposed in the combined opposition as against the ruling PPP/C, which, for the first time in the history of this country, was forced to be a minority government.
The opposition must nurture the public’s confidence in it because public confidence is the lifeblood of the opposition. An office so centrally located provides the appropriate space for that nurturing unaffected by individual traditional party dictates and actions.
APNU and the AFC – the combined opposition- can now operate as a synergetic political unit giving true meaning and value to the work of a strong political opposition in Guyana representing and defending the rights and will of all the people of Guyana.
Also, wider reach means better mobilization of people and resources to advance the interest of communities and the country as a whole. More people are at liberty to visit the leader of the opposition to provide information, raise concerns and vent their views about situations affecting their personal development and consequently the development of their communities.
This in turn will permit the opposition to raise awareness and educate citizens on very critical issues on which it is working. Therefore, this new space gives the combined opposition the opportunity to pass on knowledge and empower people to act appropriately. Empowerment is vital to the strengthening of democracy.
Second, this new space brought into existence will shape the interactions of those who use it without infringing on individual party space criteria. Traditional political party places have certain requirements about who should speak and what they are allowed to say.
However, this new opposition space will facilitate sharing of ideas and dialogue between the combined opposition and parliament (which is owned by the people, who have made the combined opposition the custodians of it). The freedom to share information and to expression ideas and opinions is a main pillar of democracy.
Further, it will give Guyanese the sense that they can make a contribution to the decision- making process of their country. This will create a greater sense of ownership and public support to decisions taken by the opposition in parliament. It will encourage and strengthen the combined opposition in parliament to fulfill public expectations.
Finally, the creation of that new space speaks to a vision of the combined opposition- a perception of what it wants and how it is going to achieve it. It is clear, that Mr. David Granger is a visionary leader. This new space will facilitate and, in many ways, influence the strategies crafted to accomplish it.
The flipside to that is the space allows the opposition to be seen not only by its supporters but all Guyanese. Citizens can judge its performance independent of the individual parties that composed it and the government because it has made itself visible to the general public in an identifiable space.
The occupation of it by the combined opposition embodies an image of what is expected of it, by the public.
Therefore, it places a strict demand on it to perform and to carry out the mandate given by the people on November 28, 2011.
In the end, this new office of the opposition is really a win-win situation for the opposition and the people. On the one hand, it allows for greater public participation in the decision- making process, greater sense of ownership and public support to action taken by the opposition.
On the other, it facilitates the opposition to reshape its interactions with all stakeholders, articulate and formulate its vision, act independent without infringing on individual party space and increase its public status and strength in parliament.
Name withheld

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