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The call of non-cooperation by Bharrat Jagdeo must be rejected
Dear Editor,
It is clear to see that Mr. Jagdeo and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) are politicising Mr. Granger’s unilateral but constitutionally provided for, appointment of the new GECOM Chairman. How is this being done? For starters, to call Mr. Granger’s decision “dictatorial”, “part of a plot to rig the 2020 National Elections”, “a threat to democracy”, “unconstitutional”, “going back to the days of the PNC dictatorship” and calling for non-cooperation of the PPP members and supporters.
This has grave consequences for all Guyanese, who already have enough socio-economic challenges on our plates. So why is Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP saying, let’s make things worse for Guyanese so my party can be in the best position to secure a victory at the next elections.
Does this make sense? Wouldn’t it be more sensible, beneficial in the long run and less harmful to rigorously advance a constitutional reform agenda to remove/reduce, not transfer the powers of the Executive Presidency, make precise and definitively clear certain vague constitutional language and provisions (e.g. the now contentious Article 161) that foster recurring problems for us and so forth.
Editor, there is a larger, underlying issue that affects us all at play here. As Guyanese, we tend to be grossly narrow-minded in our application of ethical and moral standards. We are quick to accept wrong doing by people that look similar to us and/or belong to the same political group and reject the very same wrong doing by people that are dissimilar to our ethnic identity and political affiliation.
The non-cooperation threat made by Bharrat Jagdeo is what we should be really concerned about, not Mr. Granger’s unilateral decision. This treat and the potential resulting consequences can and will most likely evolve into more structural and physical violence, increased insecurities and distrust amongst Guyanese. Although I am not surprised by Mr. Jagdeo’s threat, there is an undertone of violence and criminality that concerns me.
What is also unfortunate and demonstrates that Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP are more concerned about winning the 2020 elections by any means is his statement that he will withdraw the PPP’s involvement in the Border Committee, a committee resolved to protecting and advancing Guyana’s territorial sovereignty. Interestingly, Venezuela’s claim to roughly 30% of Guyana’s land is a direct threat to the people of Essequibo.
According to GECOM’s 2015 statement of polls, the PPP secured well over 50% of the total votes cast in Region 2. What is the point of making things worse on ourselves? You see once we start asking these and similar questions and digging a little deeper, we begin to see the political theatrics behind Mr. Jagdeo’s decision. His primary objective concern is to position himself and the PPP to secure enough votes at the 2020 elections on the wings of politically inflicted hardships that the working class Guyanese family will feel the most, not Mr. Jagdeo himself nor those who are in his income and wealth bracket.
Guyanese must take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror today and decide to stand on the side of unity, cooperation and efforts to resolve the real issues plaguing our society. We must also ask, what is the point of non-cooperation? How will I see and experience the real benefits of increased instability which will produce more hardships and increase tensions between me and my fellow Guyanese? What about the people of Essequibo? Is making things harder, the only option to make things better? At least, let us use the current controversy to address the real, substantive issues; none the least of which should be constitutional reform.
Andrew Small
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