NOW that parliament has been dissolved, the way is effectively clear for the final stretch towards the March 2, 2020 elections date. We are well and truly into the elections season when all the political horses, big and small, would take centre stage.

Soon, the parties and coalitions would launch their respective campaigns and present their lists of candidates on Nomination Day. In due course, they will present their manifestos to the electorate for mass scrutiny.

It has been stated over and over that these elections are perhaps the most important in recent history. The stakes are high. It really is a competition to decide which party or group of parties would preside over the country’s affairs in the first years as an oil-producing nation. Understandably, tensions would develop in an environment that is already pregnant with suspicion.

Elections are perhaps the most important moment on the political calendar. They are not the sum total of democracy, but without them democracy is a mere dream. Elections determine who governs and who governs become the custodians of the State and all that comes with that. In may respects, elections are a zero-sum engagement whereby the winner takes the pie and the leaders play the runner-up roles. It is not always the most desirable outcome, but that’s the nature of the majoritarian democracy we have enshrined in our constitutional arrangements.

Because of the zero-sum nature of our elections, there is the propensity for political overreach by the contestants that in the long run tarnishes the image of democratic contestation; here in Guyana, we have had our fair share of that outcome.

The situation is often exacerbated by our ethnic dynamics. It is against this background that this publication feels compelled to sound an early warning bell to the contestants at the upcoming elections. In the last analysis, free and fear elections must mean having elections free from fear.

Towards that end, people must be free from unnecessary bullying tactics by the parties. Freedom of association must be respected at all cost. Too often, we have witnessed parties overtly exercising ownership of sections of the electorate in very crude ways. Opposing parties are virtually prevented from entering some communities either by harassment of party members or threats against supporters. That kind of behaviour violates the spirit of freedom of association.

We are also calling on parties to avoid rhetoric that could incite ethnic and racial hatred. As a multi-ethnic society, this is always a sore point. Parties have a responsibility to the country and its laws not to exploit ethnic fears for partisan gains. There is a thin line between appeals to racial solidarity and inciting racial hatred. Individuals have a right to determine the rationale for supporting one party over another, but they should not seek to impose that rationale on others. Each individual must be free to support the general choice of the community or deviate from it. The vote is first and foremost an individual liberty.

Inciting violence is another area to which parties should pay special attention. Such incitement may be political without being necessarily ethnic in nature. Violence of all types should be avoided. In the end it leaves deep scars on the nation’s psyche that often takes decades to heal. Parties should encourage their supporters to report political violations to the police, rather than engage in violent retaliation.

We have already noticed at least one party engaging in a pattern of misinformation that is aimed at sullying the character of those it deems to be opponents; this is unacceptable behaviour. It is a violation of the law to slander others, but above all it smacks of the worst form of political immorality. We therefore call on political leaders to exercise better judgement when it comes to putting what they know to be misinformation in the public domain.

While we have stressed the responsibility of parties, it is equally the responsibility of citizens to conduct themselves in acceptable ways. Institutions such as the church and other community organisations have a role to play in ensuring that there is an atmosphere of peace and stability. We expect and deserve nothing less.