A prorogued Parliament while the Opposition self destructs

When the President of the Republic of Guyana prorogued Parliament he was not showing any signs of weakness. but was just exercising his democratic right as Head of State. He was just exercising one of the powers vested in him by the people of Guyana. It came about as a result of the foolishness that pervaded the 10th Parliament and he would have none of it. What is ironic is that the Opposition was so blinded by their no confidence nonsense that they did not see this coming and were caught flat-footed: Utter disappointment for a bunch of losers! And come to think of it, most of these guys are lawyers, who should have known that the President could utilize this option. But it all goes to show how dumb the Opposition, especially the AFC, is, which tells me that the people of this country would make them pay come next election.
Now, the President said he has prorogued parliament to give the Opposition time to discuss the many important issues confronting this nation, with Government and Opposition sitting down together in a peaceful and amicable atmosphere engaging, each other in meaningful dialogue.  If they are wise, which I am convinced they are not, they should sit down and talk with the Government. Failing this, the Government will, in 90 days, dissolve parliament and call an election; and this time it is guaranteed that the PPP/C will get a majority in Parliament once again.
So they would want to hit the streets in protest, which means that those PNC/APNU thugs would, as usual, be burning, looting and shooting their way into Indian stores and businesses. Instead of helping the Opposition’s cause it would greatly hurt it, because the people whom they will target will not vote for the AFC.  They will not vote for a party that knowingly aligns itself with thugs.
While all of this is going on, the AFC would have convened its congress, which might see Khemraj Ramjattan being on shaky ground. The rotating leadership system used by that party means that he should vacate his post. This spells more trouble for the AFC. It means that the “Indian” vote would be at great risk if he goes; herein lies their dilemma. What I think will happen is that the AFC’s big wigs would alter their constitution to allow Ramjattan to stay on, because they badly crave the Indian vote: But don’t they realize that the electorate is aware of this? Don’t they realize that those voters out there are going to react to this? Most certainly they would react with more and more of the Indian voters reverting back to the party; that is their only hope.
With Ramjattan back in the driver’s seat, this means that discussions about a possible coalition with the PNC/APNU would again take centre stage. This would cause potential voters to become infuriated about this idea of a merger with the devil. It would spell doom for the AFC in a greatly reduced vote, and for the PNC/APNU who are wary of a coalition with “another Indian.” I say this with the horrible experience Winston Murray had with the PNC/R when he was to become leader of that party. The inner circle of that party plainly stated that they do not want any “coolie” to lead their party. Winston Murray is what we say in Guyana “a Dougla,” meaning a mixture of Black and Indian, and he served the PNC with great loyalty; yet they derogatorily called him “coolie” and kept him out of leadership.
Around this time, too, the court case involving allegations of rape and buggery of Anthony Welshman by Uncle Raphael would have gone into full swing, which means that Trotman has to leave office. We, as a great people, cannot have such a colossal embarrassment sitting in the Speaker’s chair.

In closing, I must say Guyana is at an important juncture in its political history and I am enjoying every bit of it.

Neil Adams

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