August 12 ,2021
Dear Editor,
Since the election fiasco of March 2020, none of the political parties has presented its full list of reforms on election laws nor on GECOM. The PPP has been explicit only on what and whom it will not accept in the conduct of any future election. APNU+AFC, on the other hand, continues to mostly hide behind its election petitions and the squabbling at GECOM. As a major political force, the coalition must not shirk its obligation to formulate and articulate the changes (legal, institutional, and administrative) it proposes for the next and following elections. The maneuvers of its lawyers and commissioners are no substitute for a coherent plan with a constructive objective.
In thinking through its plan, the coalition must display courage and embrace several realities. For one, it must never lose sight of its own responsibility to ensure this nation does not ever approach the precipice of election-related ethnic implosion. Brinksmanship from any party has no place in Guyana. Second, it must accept that the next election can only proceed with significant changes to GECOM and our election laws. Seeking to preserve the status quo is unrealistic. Third, the coalition must confront the reality that a majority of its supporters have accepted, at various stages since March 2020 that it lost the last election properly. Should the coalition leaders therefore admit electoral defeat, expect no great drama and trauma among party supporters. The claims of “cheated not defeated” have long worn thin. Most supporters now see it as only political posturing rather than a sincere assertion. Even so, the coalition must reflect on whether such posturing could be self-defeating. Fourth, the coalition must be proactive and set the national agenda on election reform—rather than await the PPP to set the stage. The PPP proposals will be far-reaching and likely gain instant and strong support locally and externally. Should the coalition therefore allow the PPP to act first, any criticisms of the PPP’s main ideas would inevitably be seen as the utterings of political fomenters and schemers.
The coalition, let us recall, complained stridently and extensively about the defects it detected during the last election, especially as the recount proceeded. Surely, by now, it must have worked out the fixes it would wish to propose to the nation. The coalition must rise on these nationally-significant matters with a holistic and constructive approach.
Sincerely,
Sherwood Lowe