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The envelopes are being prepared

Jan 14, 2019 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A new political party has been launched. It is expected to impact on the Amerindian vote, even though it has not described itself as an ethnic party.
The formation of the new party is expected to give headaches to both of the main political parties, the PNCR and the PPPC, which need to command a certain amount of indigenous support in order to gain a plurality of the votes in elections.
The PNCR will be worse off because of the formation of this party. Its political nemesis, the PPPC commands the majority of the indigenous vote.
The PPP won eight of the ten administrative regions and all but one of the hinterland regions in the last elections; that one hinterland region it lost by one vote. The PPPC therefore enjoys the overwhelming support of Guyana’s indigenous peoples. The PNCR, on the other hand, can lose vital votes to the new party.
The supporters of the PNCR are in panic mode. They wish to discredit the new party and therefore have concocted the charge that the new party is a front for the PPPC. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The new party can be a game changer if it makes inroads into the support bases of both the PNCR and the PPPC.
The indigenous vote is about 12% of the electorate, sufficient to allow the new party to hold the balance of power in the National Assembly.
Other smaller parties are looking to do the same and will be looking to hitch their wagons to the new party. Years ago, when the Guyana Action Party was formed, the Working People’s Alliance did just this. It pimped its way back into the National Assembly when the Guyana Action Party, which drew the bulk of its support within indigenous areas, rotated its seat with that party.
Paul Hardy, the founder of the Guyana Action Party, was able with very little resources and campaigning to gain 4,249 votes and win a top-up seat in the 2006 polls. The new party needs about 5,000 votes to gain a seat and hold the balance of power in the National Assembly. The new party can secure these votes with or without the support of smaller parties.
It is for this reason that the APNU is running scared. It is afraid that a small party, not part of its coalition, can hold the balance of power in the National Assembly.
The PNCR is frightened by the new party, especially given that its running partner the AFC has now been discredited, and is likely to lose significant support in the forthcoming elections. The PPPC is also worried but less than the PNCR since the PPPC is strong in indigenous communities as the 2015 elections established.
The PNCR supporters are seeking to discredit the new party.
It seems more concerned about where the new party will receive its funding, implying subtly that the new party may be receiving funding from the PPPC.
It would not be surprising if both the PNC and the PPP join forces to discredit the new party. The two parties combined in 1985 to try to discredit the Democratic Labour Movement led by Paul Tennassee. The PNC used state power to victimize the DLM while the PPP accused the party of being funded by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The PNCR supporters are wrong about the funding of the new party.
It would be counterproductive of the PPPC to finance a party, which is likely to take votes away from it and vital votes at that.
Everyone knows the main sources of financing of political parties. It is the business community in Guyana. That is from where the bulk of campaign finance originates.
The envelopes are being already prepared. The business community greases both sides, the PPPC and the PNCR. They hedge their bets safely.
This year, the new party will come for their donations as will the other party, which is being launched this week. The businessmen in Guyana should start stocking up on their donation envelopes. The parties will soon come knocking.

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