Coalition politics should prevail in our nation

Mahatma Gandhi exhorted against majority rule in India

“The rule of majority has a narrow application, i.e., one should yield to the majority in matters of detail. But it is slavery to be amenable to the majority, no matter what its decisions are.Democracy is not a state in which people act like sheep. Under democracy, individual liberty of opinion and action is jealously guarded. I, therefore, believe that the minority has a perfect right to act differently from the majority. A living faith cannot be manufactured by the rule of majority."

Guyanese should note of the great Mahatma,on May 11

their decision will make Guyana a better place for

themselves and their children future.

Glad to see Joey maturing. I remember he put a good cussing pun me before the 2011 election.

Everyone is maturing, TK.

Moses maturing. Granger maturing. Greenidge maturing too.

Only Donald, Rohee and compeers regressing.

Let's hope so.

Opposition coalition plans to end racially divisive politics, improve living standards

• Wednesday, 04 March 2015 14:16
• Written by  Denis Scott Chabrol
• DISQUS_COMMENTS

The AFC-APNU Prime Ministerial and Presidential Candidates  with their wives.

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The opposition coalition on Wednesday officially launched its campaign for the May 11, 2015 general elections, pledging to end racially divisive politics for the first time since the 1950s and root out corruption, crime and bad governance.
Addressing a packed audience at the Pegasus Hotel, Prime Ministerial candidate Moses Nagamootoo said that after the 60 years Guyana was making another giant step towards national reconciliation, multi-ethnic and multi-party rule.
“It will be, as it has been, a bumpy road to the Promised Land. But we will not be daunted. We will not be intimidated.  We shall defeat the monster of racism. We shall overcome the campaign of fear,” he said to an audience that was made up of largely urban Afro-Guyanese and a smattering of mainly Indo-Guyanese professionals.
Nagamootoo, who resigned from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) after more than 40 years and joined the Alliance For Change (AFC) as its Vice Chairman, said the restoration of electoral democracy in 1992 started a hopeful process but did not bring healing.  He hopes that the coalition between the AFC and David Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will bring an end to the new cycle of autocratic, one-party rule, corruption and complicity in criminal enterprises.
“Since 1955, a single occurrence called “the split” had wounded our Guyanese civilization. It occasioned political and ethnic division. But today, today - after 60 years - we are taking a conscious step to put the healing balm to the scars of that division. Today, we hold out a new promise of addressing the legacy of ethnic insecurity in Guyana,” he said in his address.
Guyana entered into period of race-based politics after the PPP split into two into the Afro-Guyanese dominated People’s National Congress (PNC), which is today the largest partner in APNU, and the largely East Indian-based PPP.
Referring to the coalition’s merged symbols of AFC’s key and APNU’s hand, the veteran politician quipped “in our hand is the key to unity.”
Attendees at the launch of the APNU-AFC coalition's election campaign at the Pegasus Hotel (photo by Kojo Mc Pherson for APNU-AFC).In his charge, the APNU-AFC coalition’s Presidential candidate promised a “real government of national unity and democratic renewal” rather than a “bogus civic alliance” that would seek to promote greater access to education, job creation and an end to crime, corruption and cronyism.
“Our young people demand jobs, not jails, not drop-in centres (but) jobs. Our women and children demand safety at home, not safe houses (but) safe homes. Our fishermen and miners demand protection from pirates and bandits. Our paddy farmers and businessmen demand fairness and our hinterland regions demand development, not gifts, not goodies, not grants but development,” he said.
He said the Cummingsburg Accord between APNU and AFC is “not a crass short-term office-sharing bargain” but amounted to a social contract with the Guyanese working class against a dictatorship. “We have come together because the nation is at breaking point. Guyanese have been fatigued by two decades of fickle promises, of fractious platitudes, of failed projects,” he said.
The Retired Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), in touting a government of national unity that would serve all Guyanese across the country, promised improved security, fight against poverty, and non-discrimination
Granger further assured that Local Government Elections, which have not been held since 1994, would be held every three years as is prescribed by the Constitution. “We shall create an empowerment policy that regularly renews local democracy by ensuring that local government elections are held every thirty-six months as stipulated by our constitution so that our villages, towns and neighbourhoods are well governed,” he said.
Other plans he listed include an education system that would produce “citizens of quality” who would be happy to remain in Guyana as well as create employment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mining, agro-processing and the arts.  Under a coalition government, he said there would be an energy policy that would utilize wind, water and solar power to provide cheap, renewable energy to all Guyanese. There would be, he said, an enterprise and economic development policy that would offer a level playing field for local entrepreneurs, foreign investments and the huge Guyanese Diaspora.
The coalition intends to hold its first public rally in less than one month now.

The APNU/AFC coalition is not an achievement.  It is a merger of the PNC and 9 other mushroom parties with very little support.  80% of Indian support for the AFC are going back to the PPP.   The Coalition will lose om may 11th.  Anything Joey puts his hands on turns sour. He should keep out and stop meddling with politics.  He still hides behind aunty Janet's coat tails..

Moses speech was brilliant and inspirational, the kind of thing a real nationalist and leadership role model figure would do.

Even if the Coalition loses (God forbid), history will regard Moses and David as the 2 leaders who set aside what divides us, and embraced what unites us.  They focused not on our fears and suspicions but our dreams and hopes.

The PPP had  chance to create a united country, but the only thing they were united about is how to convert the state's resources to their personal fiefdoms.

Moses made it simple for everyone

AFC+ APNU Alliance pledge to

end racially divisive politics for the first time since the 1950s

and root out corruption, crime and bad governance.

If you do not want that...

Keep Voting for Ramotar & Jagdeo

No Problem

Only in Guyana politicians think they can eradicate crime.

You hear the same thing when there is an election. Whatever Moses is thinking it has been thought of.  Obama brought hope to afro Americans and it remained only hope, which they can only dream about.

That is what Moses is preaching to the Eusis kwayana.

who dem?

are these those whom your PPP soul brotha Cobra calls "mon keys"?

Ya think uncle DG and uncle Rama_can't maturing?

They can stay as they are, as comfortable in their skin and mind as they want.

On May 11, the majority of Guyanese voters will dumbfound the race-based analysts/pundits/pollsters-pollers and show real political maturity by electing APNU+AFC which holds the key to their general progress.

Once that occurs it would be the most important election in 1953. Let's keep fingers crossed.

My Dear Friend,

Analysis in Guyana are of necessity "race-based" because the facts are indeed race-based.

That you deny the people especially the Indians an understanding of the situation is profoundly wrong. David Hinds got right when he said "Who are we to tell Blacks and Indians that they do not know their interests?"

This Coalition will fail because no groundwork has been laid for it to succeed. You tell me what the PNC has done since 1992 that would give Indians the idea that they have reformed and have earned in some small way the trust of Indians.

Having regard to the current state of demography, if all eligible Indians vote PPP, it will not get the majority. Will all Indians vote PPP? No way.

If all Amerindians vote PPP, it will not get the majority. Will all Amerindians vote PPP? No way.

Not for nothing Donald Ramotar said recently that the final 2012 census results will be released mid-year, ie, after the elections. He got the final numbers a while back but suppressed its publication. Why?

As I see it, much more Afro-Guyanese will vote this time than in 2011. APNU did diligent legwork to get them on the voters list, and APNU is continuing that drive to get them out to vote.

As I see it too, the youths will make or break history on May 11. They are not afraid of black man and Burnham.

Mind you, I haven't put the douglas, bovianders and other members of the fast-growing mixed Guyanese into the picture.

But if you ask me, bhai-beta-picknee, me nah think dem dougla people fancy de PPP.

The demographics of the country do not reflect the ethnic breakdowns of the voting electorate...the people who actually show up and vote.

This cannot have been altered so much since our last national elections a mere three years ago.

Indians+Amerindian voters are the substantial majority of the voting electorate. Look at the AFC+PPP 2011 vote to get an idea of this majority. The AFC+PPP 2011 vote was 60%. The overwhelming majority of that 60% total vote was Indian+Amerindian.

This is what the election in 2015 is about and where it will be won or lost.

The 2011 Elections were held under the same demographic reality (September 15, 2012 Census) which places Indians at like 40% or even 39% of the population, yet the PPP won 49% of the total vote and the AFC won 11%. How the hell can the total Indian vote have been remotely 40%?

Sir, a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still, so I will argue no more on this issue. Leh we tek a break and look out fo wha gon happen on May 11 nuh.

Also, you and I (especially you) know how good the PPP are at winning elections. They've won them all since 1953. Including 2011.

If the PPP seriously believed they were in disaster territory, don't you think they would have cobbled together some kind of post-election Coalition with the AFC to give their Government a clear parliamentary majority?

Don't you think they'd be running after the AFC for a Coalition to prevent this Election?

Where is the panicked PPP? Where is Ramotar running scared trying to stay in office by cobbling together a parliamentary majority from the MPs in the current Parliament?

Aahhh!!! True, the PPP was winning effectively since 1953.

But not in 2011. Minority government.

That should have rung alarm bells in the collective PPP leadership mind. But no, Freedom House believes it still enjoys majority vote, so there was no need to invite AFC or APNU for coalition talks.

That's where the PPP leadership has made its fatal political mistake. Believing in its invincibility, when the 2011 elections results showed otherwise.