Which comes first?
WE HAVE NOW ENTERED OCTOBER, the month of the reclamation of our independence, forcibly taken from us two and a half centuries ago by the forces of British colonialism. Usually, our emphasis as a people would be on the independence celebrations, but this year, as has occurred before, our attention is distracted by preparations and campaigning of both political parties for the upcoming general elections.
With the stakes for the elections as high as they are this time, such a development is not unexpected. Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, by once more leading his party into the elections and, if victory should be achieved, joining the likes of too many octogenarian leaders around the world, has put his formidable record on the line. Defeat can, and will, sully his enormous political achievements.
On the other hand, the Opposition NDP is desperately trying to wipe out its dismal record of five successive defeats in general elections. A sixth one must have negative consequences for both party and especially, its leadership. This reality must bring with it a sense of desperation, a determination to exert every effort to avoid an ignominious defeat.
Given this background, there must be temptation, on both sides, to throw everything into the fray, to literally, stop at nothing, legally we would hope. In such circumstances, even significant occasions like national independence celebrations are bound to suffer, to one degree or the other. During October, political parties can be forgiven for placing their partisan campaigns ahead of independence celebrations. After all, the thinking would go, when we win there will be many other independence celebrations.
Yet strangely, given our electoral history of serious post-election allegations which were not substantiated, there has not been much effort to reach clear agreement on the rules governing the conduct of free and fair elections.
Given past allegations by the Opposition, one can only conclude that there is agreement on both sides that the current arrangements are satisfactory. We for the sake of our democracy, that is the case, but we think it would be in the best interests of “town and country”, as we say, for that to be made clear. We cannot wait until results do not match expectations to make a big brouhaha and even cause civil unrest.
Additionally, the local Christian Council has been historically involved in being somewhat of an election watchdog.We have not been hearing much from that quarter. In addition to the rules for the conduct of elections, it would be useful if there are civil society initiatives for organizing proper debates between the contending political forces. We seem to have long passed the stage when election manifestos matter before elections, and this leaves the way clear for all kinds of wild ideas and promises to be put forward on election platforms, unchallenged. It will greatly help the electorate if the plans and proposals of both parties are both put forward and challenged in recognized fora.
Let us not wait until things do not go the way of one party or the other to have the disgraceful post-election confusion we experienced in the past. Remember the old saying, “A stitch in time….”
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