The APNU/AFC Coalition must understand that they are facing a desperate PPP Government

Mar 22, 2015 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I do not believe that the May 11, 2015 polls in Guyana will result in any change of Government.  In fact this conviction grows weekly when I see the level of desperation, deceit, violence, intolerance and low-life politics emanating from verbal attacks by Minsters, Government officials and persons close to the PPP Government.  I hold firm the conviction that the PPP does not want elections but understands it must deceive the populace by grudgingly facilitating the hosting of National and Regional Elections; the ABC countries, international watchdog groups and many others are on their backs as well.  If one listens carefully to the language used by the PPP operatives in the media, at meetings and rallies the bottom line is that the PPP Government seeks no alternative for itself other than a Parliamentary majority, in other words they would like to do as their wish with virtually unlimited and unchecked power.  Now for a Government to state this as the objective of their election campaign speaks volumes about its self-perceived limitations as well as its unwillingness to practice in inclusive and participatory governance via constitutional reform which this country so badly desires and needs.  If the Government were listening to the country it would have embraced and taken steps to reform the constitution since it came to power in 1992, some 22 plus years ago.
Editor, I offer a few examples of recent examples to highlight my conviction: (a) the PPP through its youth arm the PYO and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport continues attack the youth of Guyana by attacking the GECOM and GYNC on their Youth Voter Education Campaign.  Now why would anyone not want young people to be aware of their voting rights, the voting process and to vote on issues on race?  (b) The recent baseless attempt by our very own CHATREE Attorney-General to say the APNC and AFC Coalition is illegal because the provisions made for Vice Presidents, etc. in the Cummmingsburg Accord are unconstitutional.  This is as weak an argument as one can make. (c) The killing of political activist and national hero Courtney Crum-Ewing (d) The PPP Government all of a sudden has countless complaints to make against GECOM, the continuous registration effort and most notable the Preliminary List of Electors.  Keep in mind until Gocool Boodhoo’s  contract was not extended by GECOM the PPP Government always praised GECOM.  (e) Unwillingness to respect the people’s demand and constitutional requirement to host Local Government Elections.
The aforementioned examples are all connected incidents, only let us not be mislead nor deceived.  Just as we can see the writing on the wall for the PPP Government, so can the Government.  These attempts serve two main purposes, either to discredit the electioneering process and mechanism (GECOM) thereby casting serious doubt on the integrity of the process, mechanism and election results AND destabilize the country to a point where a State of Emergency or some other mechanism can be invoked which will delay or force us to cancel elections.  The Government sees the writing on the wall, they hear the dis-satisfaction of the people so they will continue to  discredit and disrupt not only the election process, the APNU and AFC Coalition and any other meaningful positive effort that could result in a change of Government come May 11, 2015.    The following are five core reasons I believe there will be no change of Government and/or elections come May 11, 2015:
1.  The PPP is desperate and the connections can be made that efforts (violence, cyber-attacks, etc.) to destabilize the election process inclusive of the validity of the Official List of Electors are being hatched.
2.  The prospects of oil, the need to protect ill-gotten assets by PPP government minsters and close friends of the PPP and to remove all evidence of corruption means they PPP will not release its hold on the reign of Government; if they do it will be a vicious power struggle, inclusive of violence and all manner of attempts to destabilize the electioneering process and election results.
3.  The PPP Government is at its weakest point during its 22 year old reign in Government; it has not attracted significant youth support, it is uninspiring, it keeps practicing racial divisiveness and politics to its own detriment and an overwhelming majority of Guyanese both in and outside of Guyana desire change and a new direction.
4.  The PPP Government knows and understands that an overwhelming majority of Guyanese both at home and abroad are totally upset and fed up with their lies, false promises, political vendettas, etc.
5.  Many benefactors of illegal activities, especially major players in the local drug trade, facilitated knowingly or unknowingly by members and agencies of PPP Government, also understand a change in Government could curtail their ill-gotten gains and further highlight their alleged connections to Government officials therefore they too do not desire a change in Government.  This means they are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure the corrupt PPP Government remains in power, constitutionally or extra-legally.
The Coalition, Guyanese Diaspora and those who desire transparent, accountable and inclusive governance must not be caught off guard by this massive deception to host National and Regional Elections in Guyana.  The APNU and AFC Coalition in particular must understand that they are facing a desperate PPP Government, one that has shown historically and most recently that is willing to facilitate or directly carry out acts of violence, provoke racial hostility and exploit constitutional and legal technicalities to preserve its power and privilege so as to avoid the consequence of losing the reins of Government.
Mike Archer

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