Local elections as referendum

On May 4, the United Kingdom held local elections for various district councils among other contested positions. The Conservative party was given a good thrashing, losing over 1,000 seats.

Many of the Tory losses were in the south of the country, the traditional stronghold for the party. The widespread explanation for these losses is not that individual Tory councillors have been doing a poor job in their districts. It is that the party is viewed by many voters with utter disdain after some 13 years in office which have included the existential debacle that is Brexit, the Theresa May damage control, followed by the Buffoonish Boris years, and the mayfly tenure of Liz Truss and her budget that almost broke the economy.

All this was reflected in these recent local elections which offered supporters an opportunity to send a message to the incumbent party. It was not about whether this or that councillor had done a good or bad job. It was a referendum on the party’s governance of the nation.

Similarly mid-term elections in the United States often see congressmen lose or gain seats as a result of their party’s national popularity. So the old maxim that all politics is local might in fact be the opposite. All local politics is national.

In the run up to the 2018 local government elections, this paper reported VP Jagdeo declaring “what happens now is a sign of what will happen in 2020. Though these are Local Government Elections…this is about more than City Hall…this is the beginning of the fight to take back our country… you are part of a movement to take back Guyana from the incompetent APNU+AFC.”

“Much is at stake,” a hoarse Mr Jagdeo consistently repeated, while noting that large amounts are being spent on wastage and for government ministers to live “a good life.” “Three years is enough,” he declared, while imploring voters to remove the APNU+AFC not just from City Hall but also from Central Government.

And indeed the results saw a strong showing for the PPP/C, securing overall 61% of the votes, while APNU, the main partner in the governing coalition, managed 34%. Total turnout was only 36% and in Georgetown was only 28% perhaps reflecting the lack of enthusiasm for the Granger administration among its own supporters. A month later, on the back of those elections an emboldened Mr Jagdeo brought a No Confidence Motion to Parliament. The rest is history.

So while we want local government elections

to be about which individuals might be best to run or be part of a particular village council it is inevitable that the larger political narrative infects and influences how people will vote on June 12. And because many of us live in race based silos with one dominant ethnicity there is little incentive to vote for the best party or individuals, nor is there any pressure on those elected to actually do anything to improve their communities in order to stay elected. In that regard local elections fall far short of aspirations about local governance and autonomy. Councillors remain creatures of their parties rather than servants to their communities. And this is reflected on the ground with numerous failings by lethargic, incompetent and corrupt NDCs to clean their constituencies and maintain order. Just look around your own neighbourhood: Filth, garbage, overgrown verges and derelict cars often abound. These are symptoms of a highly dysfunctional local and national democratic system.

There is no doubt that the force is with the PPP/C nationally. At least if you believe the incessant propaganda about us living in an economy undergoing massive transformation. Indeed the Minister of Home Affairs himself has called the country “heaven and earth”, while the Minister of Local Government proclaimed at Easter that President Ali was chosen to lead by none other than God! Why then should we even bother with democracy? And perfectly timed for the elections many works are now being rolled out for roads and other infrastructure in various communities.

At the same time we have an opposition that is still reeling from its 2020 defeat and the rigging attempts. The leadership appears divided although the PPP/C machine and its subservient media have done a masterful job of portraying a party in freefall. And as the maximum leader knows only too well it is all about controlling the narrative.

That said the ruling party is not in a great place itself despite having mountains of money to spend. Not forgetting last year’s Su Gate, let’s take some recent events that suggest vulnerabilities for the party. The ruling by Justice Kissoon regarding Exxon and insurance is one of several handed down by the High Court including the President being in

violation of the constitution that point to a growing stance by the judiciary to limit executive overreach.

The fact that the EPA is appealing the ruling on the grounds of its consequences to the economy rather than the environment - shows how that agency has been utterly co-opted by Mr Jagdeo.

The detention of the Home Affairs Permanent Secretary in Miami and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the reasons for it, have engendered numerous conspiracy theories that seem to suggest something untoward. Finally the blatant meddling by Mr Jagdeo (who once described journalists as “vultures”) in the election of the Guyana Press Association of which he is not a member, and the failure of acolytes to take it over show how we are entering a period of creeping autocracy.

But these are topics for the elite to argue over. For the common man it is persistent food inflation and the cost of living along with the failure of the administration to holistically address their hardships despite having the means. This must be so galling even for the PPP/C’s own supporters. Why is it that overseas Guyanese are still being asked to make donations for poor people here when Guyana is, according to President Ali, an economic powerhouse? Or did he mean poorhouse?

So it would behove the opposition no matter how frail they may be to take a leaf out of Mr Jagdeo’s book and run the upcoming elections not so much as individual contests but as a national campaign that is a referendum on the three years of the PPP/C. Are you better off than then? Is your commute better? The quality of your healthcare or your children’s school? To make these issues a priority might undermine the concept of local elections but whatever their format, elections are few and far between, and remain the most effective way to send a message to the national politicians on either side that they must do better.