Losing can be traumatic

May 23, 2015 Editorial

Over time people have been known to suffer loss and the experience is always bitter. No one likes to lose. Cricket teams lose and there are always analyses of the loss. England, more than any other country tends to deal harshly with the cricket administration. Heads roll.
Similarly, football administrators for the various clubs and even country take harsh actions when there are losses. Managers are sacked as are the coaches and those that have to do with the technical aspects of the game.
We have seen people reduced to nervous wrecks because of a severe loss, particularly in the field of sport. One American footballer had a field goal to kick to win the match; he missed and for four years he could not come to grips with himself. He even contemplated suicide. The fans were equally harsh.
So we come to the politics of elections in Guyana. These recent elections ousted the People’s Progressive party after 23 years. This was the party that had ousted the People’s National Congress that had taken over from the very PPP back in 1964.
Flashback to 1964. The civil unrest had just ended. Many people got killed and properties were destroyed. In the end peace prevailed and elections were held. The PPP won the majority but the combined opposition polled more votes. The coalition that was born therefore had the right to rule Guyana but the PPP was determined that this should not happen.
In the end the Queen of England, who was the de jure ruler of Guyana had to evict the PPP by executive order. The slogan that emanated from that action was ‘Cheated not defeated.’
In 1992 the PPP evicted the ruling PNC from office because it was sure that it had an ethnic majority that could keep it in office in perpetuity. And that might have been the case except that increasingly people chose to shun the race vote. But that did not stop the PPP from making a shameful pitch for the race vote. Former President Bharrat Jagdeo was the main caller for the race vote. The evidence is now in the reaction of those who listened to and heeded his call. To scare them into voting race he told them some sordid tales. These people now live in dire anticipation.
When the PNC was ousted there were street protests. Fires raged in parts of the city as property was destroyed. In fact, this was the trend for three other elections. People were not known to accept loss.
Fast forward to this year. Once more the PPP has had to demit office, a situation that it never envisaged again when it come to power in 1992 and it is finding this loss to be devastating. For one, it is insisting that there be a total recount. Why? This party had never granted any request. The courts ruled that it had been erroneously granted a seat after the 2006 elections; it never surrendered that seat.
Similarly, in the 1964 elections it had erroneously been awarded the Houston seat, it held on to that seat. Never has the PPP conceded anything. In this case with the international observers, nearly 200 of them finding the elections process above board, in fact, excellent. For the PPP to insult its guests, accusing them of cheating is perhaps one of the greatest insults anyone could hurl at a guest.
Of course the observers were at pains to ignore the allegations and in the face of that, the PPP is changing its tune. It is saying that the observer missions were duped by some new system that they never envisaged. Observer missions know about elections; they know where to look for irregularities.
There is something that needs to be addressed at this time. In the face of the accusations, the PPP should realize that it is continuing to divide the nation. Its supporters are going to remain firmly in its corner, even to the point of refusing to cooperate with the government.
Perhaps the PPP is never keen on a united Guyana.

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Losing can be traumatic

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