Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 03, 2015 Editorial
Stretching all the electoral timing stipulations to their limits, general elections are less than four months away. We hope that in the political campaign that will be waged for the duration, the new government will be created out of an atmosphere of maturity and calm. Governments, like babies, are tremendously influenced by the conditions in which they are gestated and constituted.
Some complain that our politicians are too transfixed by our past. But we cannot pretend that the past can simply be jettisoned with a flick of the wrist, as if turning off the TV. We are all products of our past. We can however look at our past and weigh the consequences of decisions made during that time to decide whether if repeating those decisions would help or hinder our progress to a future that is better than our present. We cannot forget the past but we can at a minimum avoid repeating the mistakes of that past and perchance continue with actions that produced positive outcomes.
Playing to the fears of our several ethnic groups has invariably proven to be a no-win option. And has become more so with the changes in our demographics during the past few decades. Today there is no one ethnic group that constitutes an absolute majority so the old strategy of solidifying ethnic bases is not now a rational choice. Crossover votes in significant numbers – greater than 10% of the total turnout – are now mandatory for victory by any party at the polls. We have to remember that in our constitutional arrangements, coalitions cannot be cobbled together after the elections. It therefore makes sense for parties to constitute within themselves the widest representation and craft their programmes to address the interests of all constituencies.
We would wish that political programmes would at last take centre stage in the political campaign. This was the original premise on which party politics was introduced to further the ideal of democracy. Organizations, vying with each other to take over the reins of governance of the polity through the consent of the governed, would present their plans to the latter. The policies and programmes would then be scrutinised and decisions made on the basis of their adjudged efficacy and relevance to take the country forward.
With the declining relevance of stark ideological choices upon the retreat of the left, there is now general agreement on how the economy and society ought to be structured. The focus now shifts to the prioritisation and timing of agreed upon initiatives. But this retreat of ideological posturing foregrounds the importance of the people that will be in charge of implementing the plans. In the end it will be the differences in the abilities of the candidates that will be critical. Character and qualification will be on par with programmes.
And this takes us back to the possibilities of a contentious and potentially debilitating campaign. When it comes to character unfortunately ad hominem attacks have become the norm. Already we have heard who might have shot protesters and who might have run from burning cane fields in the 60’s. This will get us nowhere: there is not a man or woman among us that has not made mistakes of one sort or other in their lives.
And we return to the theme introduced in the beginning. While not forgetting who did what in the past, we have to accept that inherent in the human condition is the possibility of change and growth in each and every one of us. And that includes our candidates for governmental office.
We must look at the complete record of those that will present themselves before us on the hustings, for our approbation. As our old folks advise, let us “pick sense from nonsense”. There are none that are perfect; let us choose those that best represent what we all desire in our leaders: a commitment to building rather than pulling down others.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
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