Calling one side riggers and the other side angels is not a recipe for reconciliation

Mar 15, 2020 Features / Columnists, Hinds' Sight with Dr. David Hinds

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Last week’s column ended with the conclusion that when all is said and done, no party wins an election in Guyana. As I write today’s column, GECOM has just declared the Coalition the winner of Region 4 by a wide enough margin to in effect make them the statistical winner of the overall election.
I say statistical winner, because I am very certain that that victory will not be accepted by the PPP, which speaks for half of the electorate, which for the most part consists of Indian-Guyanese. If I had my way, I would avoid comment today on the election. I would instead write about some aspect of Guyanese and Caribbean life that avoids comment on politics.
Many persons have asked why I am so silent on the events unfolding around us. Others have called on me to join the chorus of condemnation of the Coalition and GECOM for what is seen by some as a naked stealing of the election. The question is this—what is there to say about this election that has not already been said?
Two of my political elders, Moses Bhagwan and Eusi Kwayana, have penned an appeal to the leaderships of the two political sides to consider a political solution in the form of a joint government. I fully support that call. Kwayana first introduced that political solution as far back as 1961—six decades ago. It was rejected then and alas, if one is to go by what one hears from some pro-PPP voices, it would be rejected now.
It is the kind of reasonable solution that one would think that reasonable people would welcome. But over the last sixty years, we have found ways to be unreasonable and kick it out of play for one reason or the other. Kwayana and Bhagwan have instead been questioned about their “silence” over the last five years.
Others have suggested that the issue of power sharing only arises when the PPP wins. One respected commentator and friend went as far as calling on the two veteran politicians to acknowledge the PPP as winners of the election before proceeding with their solution.
When I hear and read the above, I know that we have reached the point of almost no return. I supported the Coalition at these elections, and I have explained my reason for doing so. But my political outlook allows me to reach beyond whom I voted for and embrace a solution that would give Guyana a chance to live.
I shared a panel with Henry Jeffrey and Clem Seecharan on a radio program on Demerara Waves Radio this past week. We all agreed that there must be a political solution along the lines advocated by Bhagwan and Kwayana.
I opined that if we are serious about National Reconciliation, it cannot be premised on the declaration of a winner at these elections. I argued that once a winner is declared, they would see that as a mandate to govern, and not to reconcile with the loser.
Against that background, Jeffrey and I floated at the idea of an interim power sharing government that preempts the results of the election, with the expressed task of constructing a political and constitutional architecture that removes winner-takes-all from our landscape. In effect, we were suggesting the possibility of scrapping the elections as a prerequisite for unity, peace and a joint existence.
The trouble is that nobody is listening. Those, like some of my friends, who wrap themselves with the flag of reasonableness and neutrality have sidelined people like myself who they view as part of the problem, simply because we are associated with one of the sides.
Allies who would normally consult you on progressive issues now bypass you. They alone are the faces of neutrality and commonsense. Then there are those who have declared the PPP the winner and the Coalition the rigger and loser. They call on persons like me to join their crusade or be buried with the so-called riggers. For them, the solution lies in “democracy and the rule of law” which can only be manifested by a declaration of the PPP as the winner. There can be no other solution.
There is a lot I have to say about this election that will be said in the fullness of time. But for now, I have concluded that my voice must not be a barrier to reconciliation. I have kept myself away from the back and forth since election day. I will not contribute to a ganging up on one side. That kind of reaction has far-reaching consequences that go beyond politicians.
Calling one side riggers and the other side angels in an environment of competition and conflict of historical dimensions and sociological underpinnings will never be a recipe reconciliation.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)
More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.news. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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