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It is not the time!
Sherod Duncan, the Deputy Mayor, should carefully pick his battles. He should withdraw from contesting the position of Mayor of Georgetown in the next couple of days. He will destroy his young and promising political career if he takes such a step. His decision to challenge for the position of Mayor is a political miscalculation.
His timing is bad. The incumbent has not yet had a full year in office. It is not likely that the forces that supported her as mayor are going to be convinced to make a change so soon. This will amount, in their estimation, to an indictment against her performance but more importantly, their choice. They will stick with her.
They have stuck with another controversial mayor in another municipality. That mayor has been returned to office with an overwhelming mandate.
Duncan has to wait on the right moment before he throws his hat in the ring. He has to wait until there is an irreversible groundswell of disaffection against the present Mayor before he decides to challenge. There is some disaffection right now. But it is not enough to shake the timbers at City Hall.
The Deputy Mayor is mistaken about the exercise of international democracy within the coalition in which he operates. The APNU+AFC coalition is not as democratic as he may presume. They do not see the existence of differences within the coalition as a healthy development. For them, the expression of differences represents a serious fissure rather than positive development.
APNU is no democratic partnership. The PNCR, the main party, is dominant in all respects. There is no structure which allows for the parties within the partnership to meet and come up with a common position. The partnership is dominated by the PNCR.
The AFC is no democratic party either. It has isolated one of its members that was trying to take an independent stand in the local government elections, and who was questioning the role of the AFC within the governing coalition.
The AFC will not support Duncan in his bid. For them, that will be detrimental to the coalition. They too do not recognize the positive value of internal dissent and differences within the coalition.
Sherod Duncan should only throw his hat in the ring if and when he is certain that he can win. He must not assume that he has the support of the majority of the council. People are good at giving you their word that they will vote for you, only to deceive you when the time comes. He should ask all of those who would have assured him of their support to come out publicly and express that support. Unless half of them do so, he should not throw his hat in the ring, because he will end up being betrayed.
Duncan has to understand that even though the coalition may seem to be operating as a singular unit, there are problems within the alliance. Things are not as they seem.
APNU and the AFC had an understanding. It was a 60/40 understanding. There were problems with this understanding in the local government elections. No mayor in all of the regions won by the coalition has come from the AFC. They have been left out in the cold. Their protests have fallen on deaf ears.
Georgetown is the stronghold of the PNCR. The PNCR is not going to allow, ever, any other party to hold the Mayorship in Georgetown. If it is not the incumbent, it is not going to be Duncan. The PNCR will find somebody else. The PNCR is not going to give away turf in Georgetown, not ever.
Duncan therefore is not going to be supported by the PNCR candidates for the position of Mayor. The political battle lines will be drawn once he throws his hat in the ring. He should continue to do what he is doing. He should continue to forcefully represent his constituents and the people who look to him for representation. He should wait. It is not yet his time. The city is not yet ready for change. The political forces that control the city are happy with the present leadership.
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