THE MIDDLE GROUND

Mar 13, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Local government elections are notorious for low voter turnout. The stakes are much lower here; political power at the centre is never threatened – at least not in Guyana. Therefore the ethnic and other insecurities which force people to come out in their droves for national and regional elections, do not replicate themselves during local government elections.

It matters not, as we have seen this past week, how regular these elections are held. The voter turnout will be low. Guyanese should have been excited by the prospects of local government elections, but they obviously were not, and this is why there is not likely come March 18, 2016, for there is be a voter turnout in excess of 65%. If 50% of the people in Guyana turnout to vote, that will be, by local government standards, a good turnout.

A poor turnout tends to go against the ruling party, but that is only when there are two major parties contesting and the elections are expected to be dominated by these two parties. This time there are still two major parties, but there are also a number of groups vying for power in the local government elections.

The PPP is severely weakened from its loss in the general and regional elections. Its financial resources, from all accounts, have dwindled. It does not have the resources to campaign in all areas, even though it is contesting in all elections. This opens the floodgates for the smaller parties to make their mark.

This election, from this perspective, will be an important test as to how the public perceives democracy. If democracy continues to be confined to voting for either of the two main political blocs in the country, then Guyana would have regressed politically. The showing of the small independent parties will therefore determine whether there will ever be middle ground in Guyana’s political space.

The point has already been made elsewhere that it not desirable for the political party holding political power at the centre to also dominate in local government councils such as the neighbourhood democratic councils and the town councils.

An independent voice, even if in a minority, even if it is one person, will help to tilt the political balance and guard against excesses. A Mark Benschop, for example, within the Georgetown City Council, will make a difference because as an independent, he is not likely to be expected to side with one or the other just to ensure that one or the other have their way. This is the value of the independent parties.

This column is non-partisan. It is not endorsing anyone, but is merely asserting the difference independents can make to the political culture of the country, by ensuring that local councils are not war rooms between the PPP and the PNC. Independents can also promote greater transparency and accountability. They will be watchdogs for the people in the councils.

A new generation of leaders is likely to emerge or to disappear on March 19, 2016, the day after the elections. If the independents are smashed, it will see many of them throw in the towel and exit the political arena. If on the other hand, the independents do well, then they are likely to use the local government system as a stepping stone to greater political ambition.

March 18 is therefore important in terms of the middle ground of politics in Guyana. It will determine whether that middle ground stays intact or is wiped out totally. If the independents do not do well, the middle ground will be completely annexed by the PPP and the PNC, and that will be a sad day in this country.

A low voter turnout helps the smaller parties and independents more than it does the larger parties. Both the PPP and the PNC will suffer if there is a low voter turnout. In 1994 there was a low voter turnout and a new party, Good and Green Guyana, won, with the PNC second and the PPP – which was in power at the time – trailing behind.

Local government election is the one time that a low voter turnout is not that bad, because the lower the turnout, the larger the middle ground.

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