Take the long walk to freedom on Monday
November 27, 2011 | By KNews Letters
Dear Editor,
The cold hard truth is that the PPP knows it will lose its majority. This has increasingly become clearer to the PPP in the past month or so and particularly after Moses Nagamootoo joined the AFC. The actual go-ahead to purchase the water cannon came recently and one has to seriously wonder why does the PPP expect election violence when there was none in 2006. The few skirmishes were handled capably by the police force and this has been the most peaceful election campaign in Guyana’s history despite the rotten and inciteful cussdowns from Jagdeo. Does the PPP of recent know something is coming that we don’t, which explains its purchase of the water cannon despite these factors? Why does it expect violence on such a scale to warrant a water cannon? The PPP will not get 50 percent of the vote in a normal turnout election. Its own number crunchers and pollsters know this. One actually gave himself away in a recent letter directed to me. I crunched the numbers he slyly revealed and I know the reality is that the AFC surge is hammering the PPP and APNU. So, what does the PPP do now in 2011 facing a minority government? It goes to its backup plan of ensuring low voter turnout. I will not speculate whether there is a further backup plan but this water cannon has me seriously thinking.
Voter turnout is the PPP’s last gasp without rigging the election. How will the PPP ensure voter turnout favours it? Firstly, it declares a national holiday for election day. This means no transportation on the road. Lack of transportation to go to vote means people stay home. If they stay home like they did in 2006, the PPP gets closer to its majority. Secondly, the national holiday and the lack of transportation especially hammers Region 4. This is exactly what the PPP wanted. Region 4 is hostile territory to the PPP and fertile ground for a surging AFC. This is the region with the highest volume of people who want to create change and history on November 28. The AFC is the only force capable of stopping the PPP from getting its majority. Region 4 experiences the largest internal migration in Guyana, meaning more people have to travel from housing areas like Diamond to Georgetown and vice versa in order to vote. If they can’t vote because they can’t get transportation to vote, the PPP gains. Thirdly, Tony Vieira has publicly written that the PPP will be using the vehicles of private contractors in contravention of the Representation of the People’s Act to transport their supporters to the polling stations. This provides an advantage to the PPP as its supporters get transported in vehicles owned by contractors that the taxes of APNU and AFC supporters paid for. AFC and APNU supporters’ taxes handed out by the PPP to these contractors who buy these vehicles. Use your cameras, take photos and store them for later. Any new government must take action against these contractors. Some would argue this amounts to bribery and influence peddling. Fourthly, the PPP has allowed the PSC to play a hands-on role in this election. This move has serious questions written all over it. Businessmen would apparently be monitoring the elections with maps, etc and transporting police on election day. Fifthly, state resources such as Guysuco trucks will likely be used by the PPP to transport its supporters.
All of these factors put the opposition at a disadvantage on election day where the PPP with ready access to transportation can dominate and dictate the polls. The opposition has to ensure its supporters get to the polls. Carpooling is an option. Riding bikes in groups is an option. The opposition parties must come out and offer some lucrative inducement to minibus owners and private car owners such as a tax break, gasolene tax break or no registration fees to get them on the road for November 28. The PPP knows the list of 475,000 is already 17,000 less than 2006. They know 43,000 did not pick up their IDs, leaving a total of 432,000 voters. They know that at a best case scenario of normal 90 percent turnout, there are only 380,000 voters. The PPP knows it can’t win 50 percent of the vote if 380,000 turn out to vote. The PPP can’t win 50 percent of the vote unless turnout radically alters the election like in 2006. The PPP needs low turnout. It has manufactured the situation to create low turnout. Go out and vote so change will come to those who have pillaged this land. I want to see them in court and in jail. The Guyanese people have to get to the polls. Those who want change, who desire hope, who pray for a better day and a good life will have to take the long walk to freedom on November 28. Walk in groups, join each other, sing songs, tell stories and share jokes and the journey will seem shorter. The parties should organize group walks and peaceful marches to polling stations.
The time has come for this nation to stop dying in the arms of the PNC and the PPP and to start living, period.
M. Maxwell
November 27, 2011 | By KNews Letters
Dear Editor,
The cold hard truth is that the PPP knows it will lose its majority. This has increasingly become clearer to the PPP in the past month or so and particularly after Moses Nagamootoo joined the AFC. The actual go-ahead to purchase the water cannon came recently and one has to seriously wonder why does the PPP expect election violence when there was none in 2006. The few skirmishes were handled capably by the police force and this has been the most peaceful election campaign in Guyana’s history despite the rotten and inciteful cussdowns from Jagdeo. Does the PPP of recent know something is coming that we don’t, which explains its purchase of the water cannon despite these factors? Why does it expect violence on such a scale to warrant a water cannon? The PPP will not get 50 percent of the vote in a normal turnout election. Its own number crunchers and pollsters know this. One actually gave himself away in a recent letter directed to me. I crunched the numbers he slyly revealed and I know the reality is that the AFC surge is hammering the PPP and APNU. So, what does the PPP do now in 2011 facing a minority government? It goes to its backup plan of ensuring low voter turnout. I will not speculate whether there is a further backup plan but this water cannon has me seriously thinking.
Voter turnout is the PPP’s last gasp without rigging the election. How will the PPP ensure voter turnout favours it? Firstly, it declares a national holiday for election day. This means no transportation on the road. Lack of transportation to go to vote means people stay home. If they stay home like they did in 2006, the PPP gets closer to its majority. Secondly, the national holiday and the lack of transportation especially hammers Region 4. This is exactly what the PPP wanted. Region 4 is hostile territory to the PPP and fertile ground for a surging AFC. This is the region with the highest volume of people who want to create change and history on November 28. The AFC is the only force capable of stopping the PPP from getting its majority. Region 4 experiences the largest internal migration in Guyana, meaning more people have to travel from housing areas like Diamond to Georgetown and vice versa in order to vote. If they can’t vote because they can’t get transportation to vote, the PPP gains. Thirdly, Tony Vieira has publicly written that the PPP will be using the vehicles of private contractors in contravention of the Representation of the People’s Act to transport their supporters to the polling stations. This provides an advantage to the PPP as its supporters get transported in vehicles owned by contractors that the taxes of APNU and AFC supporters paid for. AFC and APNU supporters’ taxes handed out by the PPP to these contractors who buy these vehicles. Use your cameras, take photos and store them for later. Any new government must take action against these contractors. Some would argue this amounts to bribery and influence peddling. Fourthly, the PPP has allowed the PSC to play a hands-on role in this election. This move has serious questions written all over it. Businessmen would apparently be monitoring the elections with maps, etc and transporting police on election day. Fifthly, state resources such as Guysuco trucks will likely be used by the PPP to transport its supporters.
All of these factors put the opposition at a disadvantage on election day where the PPP with ready access to transportation can dominate and dictate the polls. The opposition has to ensure its supporters get to the polls. Carpooling is an option. Riding bikes in groups is an option. The opposition parties must come out and offer some lucrative inducement to minibus owners and private car owners such as a tax break, gasolene tax break or no registration fees to get them on the road for November 28. The PPP knows the list of 475,000 is already 17,000 less than 2006. They know 43,000 did not pick up their IDs, leaving a total of 432,000 voters. They know that at a best case scenario of normal 90 percent turnout, there are only 380,000 voters. The PPP knows it can’t win 50 percent of the vote if 380,000 turn out to vote. The PPP can’t win 50 percent of the vote unless turnout radically alters the election like in 2006. The PPP needs low turnout. It has manufactured the situation to create low turnout. Go out and vote so change will come to those who have pillaged this land. I want to see them in court and in jail. The Guyanese people have to get to the polls. Those who want change, who desire hope, who pray for a better day and a good life will have to take the long walk to freedom on November 28. Walk in groups, join each other, sing songs, tell stories and share jokes and the journey will seem shorter. The parties should organize group walks and peaceful marches to polling stations.
The time has come for this nation to stop dying in the arms of the PNC and the PPP and to start living, period.
M. Maxwell
