The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) election campaign at Albion last Sunday got off to an impressive start and is an indication that the party is ready for the upcoming elections.

Its superior ability to mobilise and organise was clearly evident at the Albion rally which is not surprising because historically it has always demonstrated such ability, beginning with the first national election held under Universal Adult Suffrage in 1953. From that era to the present, the party undeniably has maintained a well-oiled election machinery.

One of the very noticeable things about the Albion rally was that it attracted people of all ethnicities, albeit the majority of people were Indo-Guyanese and this was expected because of the demographics of the Corentyne.

This has not happened by accident. On the contrary, it is a result of the party never losing contact with the grassroots people, visionary political leadership and its thousands of dedicated and hard-working foot soldiers scattered across the country.

One only has to look at the party in the 28 years in the opposition to appreciate its ability to mobilise and organise, as well as its resilience. Most other parties would have disintegrated if they were in the opposition for such a long period. Instead, the party became stronger and better organised under the astute leadership of Dr Cheddi Jagan.

So what happened at Albion is just the continuity of what began in 1950, and one of the commendable aspects of the rally was that the speakers did not engage in mudslinging. Instead, they sent a strong message of national unity and a return of the spirit of 1953.

They also, in a simple and methodical way, traced the achievements of the current government and outlined the plans the party intends to implement if it is re-elected to government, which seems likely if one were to use Albion as a yardstick.

Of course, no true, patriotic Guyanese would dispute that national unity is indispensable to national development and the PPP, to its credit, was able to achieve that in i953. Unfortunately, this was ruptured by politicians with a greed and lust for power and machinations by foreign powers in conjunction with local reactionaries.

However, the PPP never abandoned the struggle for restoration of national unity, hence its constant reminder of the need for the return of the spirit of 1953, and it has been succeeding in its quest albeit not at the rate we desire.

But such processes do not bear fruit overnight; rather, they require patient and persistent work, which the party has been doing and today any objective observer would admit that the situation is gradually changing and increasingly, Afro-Guyanese are supporting the party.

No doubt this prompted former PNCR executive member, Joseph Hamilton to cross over to the PPP/C camp because, when he addressed the Albion rally, he made it categorical that the upcoming election is not about race but one of which political party has the best programme for development.

In addition, if one analyses the results of the 2006 election it would be seen that the party increased its votes in most Afro-Guyanese based regions.

A typical example is Linden, where the party gained over 3,000 votes which was an appreciable increase over the 2001 election. And this amount of votes is even more remarkable when one recalls that in 1964 the party received 99 votes in the same region.

Only a few months ago a group was formed in Linden which pledged to work towards a PPP/C victory there.

Despite the facts and reality there are some who continue to peddle the marginalisation lie  that this government is prejudiced for Indo-Guyanese. The strategy seems to be guided by Josef Goebbels theory of the “bigger the lie and more often repeated the more likely it would be believed.”

An idiotic newspaper columnist appears to have a tremendous affinity for Goebbels as he churns out his almost daily menu of venom. But the people are the best judges and not too long from now they will give their verdict, and it is hoped that those who spew their venom now  will be able to withstand the shock emanating from that verdict.