THE PPP/C victory will be due to many factors: genuine impact of its record of achievements in government (1992-2011); an impressive, multi-ethnic/multi class slate of candidates; and a robust campaign and solidarity of the unexpected and untimely death of our founder -leaders, Dr Cheddi Jagan and comrade Janet Jagan (J.J.). The campaign as I see it will be expensive and aggressive by all the contesting parties. The main target group will be the young rural and urban people, many of whom would be voting for the first time. With the voting age at 18 years, many of them had little memory of our history at election time from colonial to present day. They could be fed on what the parties perceived as good and bad.
The PPP/C has a sound record of increasing its support by almost 15% since the last honest elections of 1964,as it made significant inroads into areas of non -traditional support like North West and Linden.
It is evident that all the parties contesting this upcoming election will be confident of winning the presidency, and of controlling the Parliament. Interestingly, the PNCR received exactly the same 40% it had polled in 1964. And continue to lose more and more votes each election.
The hostile media, and mainly some private televisions will be key players in portraying reckless propaganda and lies planted mainly on the PPP/C that rigging will take place. The intention of this criminal incitement is to arouse anger and to provoke retaliation against the perceived rigging. This will create a security crisis in the city so we must be ever vigilant that this does not materialise.So, the answer to racial war is a political solution.
Only dialogue could end the political standoff. It also presents the potential for a solution to the existing situation within the framework of the economic and security sectors. The PPP/Civic government made miraculous achievements from 1992 in the face of the reality of inheriting a wrecked economy and wrecked physical infrastructure. The performance and forecasts in the economic/financial sphere up to this year have been positive.