The Story Within The Story… Charrandass’ vote: What it all means

Dec 23, 2018 Features / Columnists, News

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By Leonard Gildarie

It will be the night that will continue to reverberate throughout Guyana in years to come. A government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud, broke ranks and voted in favour of a no-confidence motion against his side. In so doing, the Coalition Government has fallen and is constitutionally mandated to call early elections, within three months. In essence, it will be a caretaker government.
The political scene in Guyana has forever changed. And dramatically so.
No government is assured any longer. However, it is far from over…we still have national elections to deal with. Anything can happen.
I have said it many times and will say it again. the people of Guyana are intolerant of what they perceive to be an indifference to them by any administration. Charrandass is a representative of the people.
We have come a far away. We deserve more. We want more.
It happened under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), leading to a prorogued parliament by former President Donald Ramotar in 2014.
In May 2015, a Coalition Government entered office, ending 23 years of continuous power by the PPP/C. People were tired then of what was seen as a government that had stopped listening.
Fast-forward to now, if we listen to the man in the street, there seems to be some similarity. People are impatient and wanted this administration to move faster.
On Friday, one man decided that his “conscience” could not allow the current Coalition Government to continue. By deciding on that “yes”, Charrandass Persaud, a lawyer by profession, has set into motion a collision at the polls, which will decide who runs the country when first oil comes either late next year or early 2020.
Make no mistake, it is the most critical of elections for this country in my memory.
The battles will be hard fought and there will be casualties. Much will define how political parties operate in the coming years. They will be very much aware now of what is at stake. There can be no mistakes.
After that deciding vote which left everyone shocked…well not all it seems… there were some sobering words from Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. The development is a major political setback, he admits. However, the Coalition will now have to hit the ground running and strengthen its base.
How the Alliance For Change – the smaller of the two factions in the coalition – has been damaged by Persaud’s claims that his warnings and pleadings on critical issues were not addressed by his leaders, remains to be seen.
The tone of the PM was a sobering one, and in this political climate, a welcome one.
We have got to be gracious and acknowledge that our country remains the priority. That rules and order are paramount.
Nagamootoo urged Friday night for business to continue and for Christmas shoppers to do their thing.
For Charrandass, as I write, there are indications that he is heading to Canada where he will be living. His dissenting vote would trigger a security concern for him. It is unlikely he will come back anytime soon.
For a lawyer, who seemed to be doing well, to have voted that way and decided to head to Canada, could not have happened overnight. What should be acknowledged is that he had the right to vote. What can be debated is whether he agreed to support his colleagues, but had planned all along to go in the opposite direction. But that is not the subject of this piece.
The Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, a colleague parliamentarian on the Alliance For Change, to his credit, has afforded him security.
For the PPP, he is a hero. For the governing side, he is a traitor who gave no indication during meetings earlier in the day that he would not be supporting his side.
Persaud told reporters afterwards that he made up his mind the night before, as among other things, he was sidelined by his party.
For me, I hate disruptions. It would mean that the people’s business would be halted or delayed for months as parties start campaigning in earnest.
It will be a dirty elections, much is at stake, legacy, the management of oil, credibility, the sugar industry, etc. However, the people, through a representative, have spoken loud and clear.
Whether Charrandass could have been compromised, as suggested by the Government side Friday night, that is neither here nor there. The proof in the pudding will be elections. If the Coalition wins, there would likely be negotiations between the two factions. That is if they decided to contest as a coalition. If the PPP wins, it will take months to settle in. We have our work cut out.
Be it the PPP or the Coalition or whoever enters office in early elections in a few months’ time, I can say that as a newspaper, Kaieteur News will continue to hold the feet of our leaders to the fire.
We can expect nothing less. We have stood up against all the administrations for what we believed were transgressions and will continue to take the principled stance.
The two sides will have to fast track the process of naming their presidential candidates.
In the meantime, we should and must enjoy the holidays, in accordance with our tradition. We deserve it. There is much work to be done in the new year.

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