THE DECISION of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) against endorsing any of the 2011 Presidential candidates who addressed them should come as no surprise to those familiar with the thinking and policies that influence independent corporate bodies and/or established institutions to organize and sponsor such initiatives in the public interest.
It was commendable of the PSC to have taken the initiative to invite and expose the thinking and intended policies/programmes of the trio of Presidential hopefuls for the coming general election, which must take place not later than the final quarter of this year. After all, the Commission itself, over the years, has had to battle against its own internal problems and challenges to acquire the legitimacy and credibility to organize and promote the recently-concluded ‘presidential forum’ series.
The media were there to report on the presentations and exchange of ideas, and the public is now expected to be in a better position to reflect on, and assess, what the respective presidential hopefuls will eventually offer during the electioneering campaign to secure the endorsement that really matters — the winning ballots of the electorate.
All three of the candidates — Donald Ramotar (PPP/C), David Granger (PNCR), and the AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan — are first-timers for the top office in our multi-party system of democratic governance. Nevertheless, it would be generally recognised, though reluctantly admitted by his detractors, that the candidate of the incumbent party is evidently the more experienced of the three.
While the decision to avoid endorsement is no surprise — indeed quite wise — the PSC itself is now better placed to make its own judgment on what the Presidential hopefuls and their parties plan to bring to the table, with the hope of heading a new government.
It is of interest to note that the Commission has made quite clear its disinterest in “non-electoral power initiatives” (as reported in our yesterday’s edition of the paper). That simply means having nothing whatsoever to do with ideas such as resorting to undemocratic, unconstitutional means to compel a coalition of forces to run a government in this nation.
The Commission’s matured preference is for a government based on the expressed wish of the electorate, democratically exercised and recognized, and favours, as reported, “the concept of a strong and constructive opposition…”
Of significance also is that the PSC has considered it relevant to reaffirm its support for the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) as a “legitimate body,” as well as to commend the Guyana Elections Commission for settling on the ‘political code of conduct’ for the coming parliamentary and presidential elections.