Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 26, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
Guyana turns into a big ghost town during elections. The country loses close to two weeks of production and schooling every time general and regional elections are held.
People stay off the streets and do not turn up for work because they are fearful of election and post-election violence. They keep their children from school even though the schools are open and schoolchildren have never been targeted by violent protests.
People are supposed to turn up for work but employers show understanding to the fears of those who stay off the roads. There is high absenteeism by teachers because they prefer to stay home to protect their children.
In this context it is surprising to learn that concerns have been expressed over the fact that elections this year will be held around the same time as the CXC examinations.
It is good that people are concerned about the effects of the elections on students writing examinations. But they not should ignore the fact that every time there is an election in Guyana, the country shuts down for close to two weeks.
The problem with the children writing CXC examinations is two-fold. Firstly, there is the issue of the effects of election tensions, protests and violence on the children writing the examination. This problem was not created by the setting of the election date but by the failure to ensure that the polls are tension and violence free.
Secondly there is the problem that a few, not all, secondary schools are used as polling stations. And therefore there is some concern about those cases where polling stations could be in the same building as examinations.
This really should not be a problem because most of the polling stations are held in primary rather than secondary schools and it is only the secondary school children that have examinations around this time.
Also, polling day is one of the most peaceful days in the country. So it is hardly likely that there will be a ruckus in any secondary school used as a polling station. So even if it is absolutely necessary to use a secondary school, even if no alternative venue can be found for polling, there is not likely to be any disturbance that will affect the students. In fact, you can easily conduct the elections and polling at the same building so long as order is maintained.
The problem is what happens after polling day when the opposition parties take to their typical protests over the results. This is where the problem will occur because it is then that nobody wants to send their child on the roads for fear of the violence and protests activities.
I have not seen government supporters in the streets creating mayhem and protesting election results. Therefore, the closer you look at this issue, the more it seems as if the problem is not so much the date on which the elections are to be held but the response of the opposition parties to the elections.
So long as there is a commitment by all parties to peaceful polling day activity, there should no problem with having a polling station and a CXC examination in the same building at the same time.
So long as the opposition parties stop throwing tantrums whenever they lose an election, so long as they are prepared to respect the will of the people, there should be no need for parents to be afraid to send their children off to school after Elections Day.
In fact there will be no need for the country to shut down for close to two weeks.
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