COVID restrictions gone; AFC must let people vote in person

Apr 11, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Kaieteur News – Whether we like it or not, Guyana has not reached the stage where citizens are totally conversant with the intricacies and complexities of internet operations. I am one such person. Countless Guyanese are deterred about going into a school and voting by way of Zoom.
With COVID restrictions, a large percentage of PNC delegates had to vote by Zoom and chose not to. We will never know if that affected the numbers each contestant for leadership got. I believe Mr. Norton would have won anyway but two things should be put in the record for later researchers.
Would Harmon’s showing have been better if there was the normal congress at Congress Place? Secondly, did the internet voting cause many delegates to stay away? I cannot answer the first question though I think it is highly likely that both Harmon and Norton would have added to their tallies if there wasn’t Zoom voting. However, I do believe the reason why almost 55 percent of the delegates didn’t vote was because of uncertainty about how to do it with Zoom.
COVID restrictions worldwide, including Guyana, are gone. In Guyana you can attend a meeting with hundreds of persons in the same room. It makes no sense then for the AFC to hold its congress with some sections of the delegates having to vote by Zoom.
COVID restrictions contained one definite thing – people could not mingle in large numbers because the virus spread would be easier. There are no longer any restrictions of how many persons could be at a funeral, a symposium, an entertainment party gathering, a congress of a political party.
If Guyana has returned to pre-COVID days why is the AFC persisting with Zoom voting? Such a format can never replace congressional mixing. It is two different worlds. I don’t believe any party congress in any other country will persist with Zoom format based on COVID guidelines. You can have delegates making presentation via Zoom and voting via Zoom but that will be done because of itinerary restrictions, meaning people cannot be physically present because of press priorities.
It makes absolutely no sense for a political party not to have its normal two days of congress where delegates far and wide gather to express their thoughts and talk about the party’s future. Such an ambience is irreplaceable. Two questions are relevant. Did the AFC leadership make that decision among themselves or did they canvass their wider membership?
Those who still belong to the AFC and will be participating need to reflect on the crucial question: Why with the removal of COVID restrictions, the AFC does not want to hold a congress in the traditional fashion as all political parties all over the world have done and will be doing now that the COVID measures have been abated?
Those AFC members have the December 2021 PNC congress as a guide to help them answer the question above. Large numbers will not go to some building to watch the proceedings and then vote. People in Guyana are not yet accustomed to that lifestyle. They like to be in the hall with other delegates, eating, chatting and socialising. That is how it was in pre-COVID days.
The AFC’s congress (they call it “conference” but it means the same thing) is two months away. Now here is an example of asininity in the constitution of the AFC that is not replicated in any other party in the world. Forgive me but this is a broad statement since I haven’t done the research.
On page 43 of the AFC’s constitution, Article 19 states, “The various senior positions of the AFC including those in the National Executive ought to be rotated as far as possible so that no member is allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms.”
Why is this pronouncement asinine? Because the inclusion of the word “ought” is stupid. Either an organisation has term limits or not. If it has, then it states in pellucid ways that a person cannot hold office for more than two terms. If it does not have such a compulsory prevention then the word, “ought” should not be there.
A leader can say that he would like a third term and when you tell him that he cannot run because the constitution prevents him, he can ask for the proof. The proof is not in the word “ought” because “ought” is equivalent to “maybe.” It is not an imposition. It is not a legal restriction. Finally, I believe the Zoom voting will be open to manipulation. Delegates should start crying foul right at this moment.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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