In the midst of rumours and scandals

I have been around for quite a few elections and I have seen and heard a lot. I remember the elections of 1992 when rumours flew fast and furious. Although for the first time there was counting at the place of poll, I heard that people were finding ballot boxes in homes.

There was nothing so outlandish after, but there were rumours that could have sparked unrest. Last week there was talk about people in a village hurling missiles and a bottle containing corrosive substance at a truck that was taking people home from a rally hosted by the People’s Progressive Party.

If indeed that had happened then one could have expected people in another community which happened to be supportive of the ruling party could have retaliated in kind. However, there was no such untoward incident.

One of the dailies did not wait, choosing to splash the report on its front page. Needless to say, the nation was surprised, because we have come to believe that such behaviour represents something from the past.

I was alive during the disturbances of the early 1960s and I recall that when there were reports of something happening to one person in a community, rest assured that there was a tit for tat. Between 1963 and 1964, more than 200 people died. Eventually the news media while reporting on every beating or killing took great pains to hide where the incident occurred. In this way they saved many lives.

So there it was with none other than the former president, Bharrat Jagdeo, telling a press conference that he could not understand why there were people who were wishing away the attack on the truck. Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, reporting on the supposed incident, did say that he got a report while he was heading back to the city.

For my part, I opted to check with people who live in the area where the attack was supposed to have taken place. They told me that they knew nothing of the incident. They also told me that there was a blackout at the time and people were off the road. I then asked whether it was possible that people from outside the community came in and did their mischief.
I must say that the people with whom I spoke told me that things like that couldn’t happen in Berbice because someone is always looking outside, especially since bandits launched a rampage in the county.

I called the police and initially, they told me that they could not confirm or deny. I persisted and learnt that there was never an attack. Instead there was brawl on the truck and some people got injured. The people themselves spoke with the authorities. They told a similar tale.

After a week I would have expected a comment from the people who actually spread the rumour to the media and even accusing the opposition of demonstrating its penchant for violence.

That was only one bit of madness. There was the assault of a woman who had gone to Berbice to observe the proceedings. She saw the Minister of Health in a picket line and approached him to enquire why he happened to be picketing when there were problems within his Ministry.

In the end she got a mouthful from the Minister. So out of place and lawless was the Minister’s outburst that the diplomatic community was forced to comment. They damned the Minister. One diplomat even said that had that happened in his country, the Minister would have been a Minister no more. In fact, he would have been expelled from the party.

The government did react. President Ramotar chided the Minister as did some of the other Ministers. The PPP got into the act but introduced a caveat. “The Minister was provoked.” There were others who added their bit. Like the PPP, they contended that the media were to blame. This was a classic case of the party circling its wagons.

Then there were the rallies. It would seem that each party is trying to outdo the other for bragging rights about who would attract the largest crowd. There were the trucks and the minibuses that transported people from outside the rally area. There was even a case of denying that people were transported.  Minister Rohee told the press that the people came from the catchment area. I remember asking him about children being present and while he admitted that there were many children, he suggested that people may want to put a spin.

I have come to recognize that while crowds offer some comfort to the political party, the bottom line is that these people should register, and ensure that their names are on the voters’ list.

There was an attempt this time around to have the politicians present their platform to the people. It is sad that some of them did not grasp the opportunity, choosing to shy away from questions. In one case a party said that it was protecting its candidate from insults, even though it had made it a practice to insult the opposition candidates.

Tongues are wagging. There is talk that the government is nervous, but I also know that the opposition is also nervous. No one can boast of being certain of victory. People just have to wait for a few more days.

People say that President Ramotar consulted pandits to arrive at the date, the same way parents consult them about naming their children. These are interesting times.