At some point the electorate will have the final say on APNU+AFC

Dear Editor,

Travelling across the country it is not unusual to hear people say, ‘The handwriting is on the wall’.

On hearing this idiom, we are reminded of the biblical story in the Book of Daniel 5:5-28, where the Persian King Belshazzar was enjoying himself at a palace banquet. While drinking from the golden vessels of the Temple of Jerusalem, the king saw a hand appear and write on the plaster of the wall of his palace. On seeing this the ‘King’s color changed and his thoughts alarmed him, his limbs gave way and his knees knocked together.’ Daniel of Judah was summoned and he interprets the writing to be; Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharisan ’ meaning, ‘God has numbered the days of your Kingdom, and brought it to an end. You have been weighed in the balances and have been found wanting; Your kingdom is divided and given to the Mendes and the Persians.”

Placed in the context of Guyana’s realpolitik, the handwriting no doubt is that of the electorate and the wall unquestionably, belongs to the APNU+AFC

.As far as the opposition camp is concerned the idiom represents the imminent downfall of the APNU+AFC come free and fair elections.

But for the APNU+AFC the thinking is in the opposite direction. As far as they are concerned the opposition’s objective must be thwarted.

To them, deception and procrastination is the way to go, while making all the right noises about commitment to upholding the constitution and holding of free and fair elections.

This resort to smoke and mirrors to hide the coalition’s real intentions is fueling the suspicion among the populace that staying in power by a ‘hook or crook’ is the ultimate objective of those who now strut the corridors of power.

To many, the APNU+AFC’s posture since the passage of the NCM is worrisome.

At the same time, its antics to hang on to the good life as a caretaker government are so transparent that to say it is surprising would be a misnomer.

But all is not lost. It has long become self-evident that buried in the rubble of efforts at conflict resolution there still remains a glimmer of hope.

And though hope may not necessarily be a guide to action, it can nevertheless be offered as a rational expectation of what can be achieved as exemplified in the recent appointment of a Chairman of GECOM.

It is in this very spirit, we must turn our attention to the generation of Guyanese who grew up throughout the PPP/C’s 23 years in office and who are unfamiliar with the sordid experiences of pre-1992 elections in Guyana. This generation of Guyanese should have recognized by now, that for the APNU+AFC, survival by any means necessary, is the only game in town.

The problem with that game is that in today’s world, the rules have changed dramatically and so have the players on the opposing side who are not favourably disposed to playing along as they did before.

For them, trust and credibility have flown the way of an Icarus.

The probability of the APNU+AFC winning the next elections is a toxic mixture of uncertainty with impossibility.

In the circumstances, the prospects for a win-win, or winner-does-not-take-all outcome is a grey area that should not be ruled out completely.

At some point in time, the call, ‘game over!’ will be made, and then the opportunity will present itself for the electorate to determine who rules, the people or the Constitution or both?

Yours faithfully,

Clement J. Rohee