Daily incessant haranguing

Sep 30, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The daily incessant haranguing of the gullible by the PPP/C and its cohorts is intended to mask the PPP/C’s inherent electoral weakness made glaringly obvious by its failures in 2011 and 2015, while in control of the state, to convince more than half of the population to give them their support.
It is true that their failures were narrow and not overwhelming (they received 48.6% and 49.2% of the vote in 2011 and 2015 respectively) which allowed them to claim wrongdoing and complicity on the part of APNU+AFC, GECOM and the western powers and they have embarked on preemptive attacks on those very actors several months before the upcoming 2020 elections. While the PPP/C and APNU+AFC were separated by a little less than 5,000 votes in the last general elections (which can credibly be attributed to the bloated voters list), it is their relative performances in the regional elections which ultimately determines the margin of victory overall or the final allocation of seats in the National Assembly.
A simple perusal of the election returns for 2015 regional elections would illustrate the following:
1. the two (2) seats available in Regions Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 7 were shared equally between the parties;
2. the single seats available in Regions Nos. 8 and 9 were won by APNU+AFC and PPP/C respectively, while Region No. 10’s two (2) seats went to the coalition; and
3. In the larger and more consequential regions (Nos. 3, 4 and 6 comprising 13 of the 25 regional seats)the parties were separated by one seat in each region though the margin of victory for the APNU+AFC in region 4 was over 40,000 votes which is more than the PPP/C’s combined vote in Regions Nos. 3 & 6 and suggest that the PPP/C’s base is not as strong as they would like everyone to believe.
In order to regain control of the government through the ballot the PPP/C must hold on to all the seats they won in the previous election AND claim at least one (1) seat that the APNU+AFC won (while in opposition).
The PPP/C’s leadership is aware that its record in office, cannot compare favourably with the coalition government and without the resources of the state at their disposal that it cannot successfully challenge the APNU+AFC in areas where it does not have a natural advantage.
It seems to have determined that it lacks the capability and means to mount a viable, positive campaign based on its governing philosophy, record in government, vision and policies for the future and quality of leadership, and has no expectation of improving its sub-par performance in recent elections.
The PPP/C has, therefore, chosen to execute a negative, vicious and blatantly hostile political campaign based on misinformation, propaganda, vilification, scare-mongering, protest and frustration of government’s ability to implement its policies and programmes with a view to depressing previous support for the coalition government and to energize its support base.
Days after a date for elections has been announced, it is clear, that this strategy of deliberate mischaracterization of the constitutional and legal status of the President, and his government, will not abate and will surely intensify notwithstanding the fact that the President does not occupy the offices of Head of State, supreme executive authority and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Republic illegally or unconstitutionally and “shall continue in office until the person elected to the office of President at the next election held under article 91 assumes office” (Article 92).
The CCJ had earlier ruled that the successful passage of the No Confidence Vote (NCV) does not render the government illegal or unconstitutional, only that its abilities have been reduced to caretaker or interim conduct and , therefore, for the PPP/C to base almost its entire political campaign on impugning the legitimacy, authority and conduct of the government and to invite civil disobedience, intimidation, assault and rebellion is an indictment of its fundamental weakness and penchant for political vulgarity and treachery.
While seeming to convince itself, and the world, that others (APNU+AFC, GECOM, the western powers and the Courts) are scheming to deny the PPP/C political office it is the PPP/C that has pursued this path. We cannot forget that the NCV that birthed this process, though not unconstitutional, was an exercise in deceit, treachery, collusion and a cynical disregard for democratic principles and the fundamental rights of citizens.
Sincerely
Oscar Dolphin

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