By GHK Lall- Elections. Elections in Guyana now have to be a contender for the Greatest Show on Earth. If not, then the greatest show in Guyana. I am trying to pick up the pieces, hold onto them, and make sense out of the excitements. What else can they be?
The PNC may object, but it is in a deep swoon. The AFC is struggling to figure out where it is, where it is going. ANUG suffers from the blow of two departures; not just any ole ones, but two founding members that are nationally recognizable brands. And where is the lordly PPP? It, too, is working through a bad case of the nerves, even though that assertion will be slapped down.
Relative to ANUG’s losses and PPP anxieties, I did say that Mohamed the Younger (not Mohamed the small screen Actor), possessed some elements of a spoiler. He goes from one place to another, and the PPP waits in ambush. He trots out a jaguar and has to get ready for war. A dirty war will get dirtier. And all of this over some tiny, winey elections, believe it or not.
Take away the oil, and elections are drab, drab, drab. PPP-PNC. Nobody cares about who get a bad deal. Or who mek deh haan faas. Or who twist their mouths to garble what they have to say about oil or corruption. Unfortunately, the oil genie cannot be pushed back in the bottle, so now elections have taken a different complexion. The PPP could teef from sunup to sundown and all summer long, and few are the Guyanese that would give a damn.
What, with KFC, Burger King, a free cricket hat and cricket bat from Exxon’s Mr. Routledge himself! Oil changed the mental dynamics, which has led to the ongoing political acrobatics. Some joining up here. Others leaving over there. And still others deciding that they want no part of either. It is why this flash came and made me straighten up.
Elections in Guyana are now a fusion of Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. There is a newborn promising a different life. There is death that promises to get rid of the darkness of evil. And there is that American observance in October that makes one’s hair stand on end, just from thinking about life and death, and all those who make one huge mess out of both. Elections in this country have always distilled to this: trick or treat. Okay, it is time to face some hard questions that could metamorphose to facts.
If ANUG today, then who else tomorrow? Doesn’t matter whether in the barrage of a group or a trickle of bold souls. If the PNC continues to hemorrhage as it has been doing, then how much more of that can its ship take? If the AFC keeps looking lost and abandoned, then what price putting on a brave front?
And, if the PPP grows increasingly desperate when Mohamed the Younger (not Mohamed the Bluffer or Blunderer) makes inroads into its house, then how much of its confidence is a matter of keeping up appearances? Or, a product of its countermoves in the pipeline? I have a helpful hint to offer to Jagdeo et al: the more attention is lavished on the newcomer, the more people become interested in what he represents, has to say. What is this man doing? Why is he causing so much unhappiness in the PPP?
I, myself, am going to make a move to greet July. These elections could end up being more of a straight fight between the PPP of Jagdeo and the Jaguar or leopard (I suggest a skunk) man. The PNC and AFC could find themselves in an unusual position: that of bystanders and bit players. The reason the suggestion of a skunk is put to Mohamed the Younger for him to consider rests on this reality. A skunk sends people running for cover. Seeing he has Jagdeo rocking back on his heels, a skunk (a crab dawg in Guyanese) would send him into a full sprint.
I break stride to return to the PNC and AFC for a quick moment. These are the two political parties that have been touting something called ‘shared governance’ and ‘inclusive government’, maybe just the tonic that Guyana needs. But if the two secondary political presences in Guyana cannot even agree to splitting and sharing between themselves, then that doesn’t inspire as to what the two of them, or either one, could navigate at the national level. Just as I have given the PPP and Jagdeo a hand, I duplicate the favor to the PNC and AFC, and Messrs. Norton and Hughes.
I depart with some good news: the fun is now starting. The best is still ahead. Suddenly, September looks light years away.
