THE AFC keeps complaining about everything under the sun but is yet to come up with any meaningful proposals. I have said it before and will say it again – to date, the AFC has never released a statement without some appeal to racial this and that. Gerhard Ramsaroop’s “Our current electoral system…” (KN Aug. 9, 2010) is the latest case in point. Let us take a look at some of the spurious arguments made in that letter. Firstly, he complains that in Guyana “…the party with the largest number of votes forms the government, even if it falls short of an overall majority.” Ramsaroop does not say what is wrong with this so one must infer that he wants a party other than the one with the most votes to form the government. How preposterous can the AFC get?
Secondly, he says that the voting system “ensures that neither the PPP nor the PNCR can be written out of the power equation because of their banks of ethnic votes.” Mr. Ramsaroop should review its own banks and he will find out that their supporters are of the same backgrounds. Astoundingly, what he does not say is that the PPP/C has won support in all the regions in this country. Perhaps Mr. Ramsaroop does not value the votes of our Amerindians brothers and sisters.
Thirdly, Ramsaroop states that there is “mischief behind the current calls for a pre-election coalition with the PNC and AFC for 2011.” There is a good chance that Gerhard might be a victim of the contradictory messages emanating from his own party. The press has repeatedly reported skirmishes among AFC leaders regarding an alliance with the PNC. Some want it; others do not. Why blame outsiders for the confusion? Moreover, Ramsaroop must still explain why Mr. Trotman was meeting with Henry Hartley and others at the Pegasus Hotel. He must also confirm or deny the presence of Mr. Murray at that meeting. He must also confirm or deny the exclusion of Mr. Ramjattan from the same meeting.
Fourthly, an outrageous claim that the “PNP and PNC concluded a backroom deal” regarding candidates demonstrates the ways in which the AFC nonchalantly substitutes facts with manufactured stories. The gentleman should provide the evidence.
Fifth and finally, Mr. Ramsaroop says that the AFC has a different ‘philosophy’ from that of the PNC. I am not sure what he means by philosophy here because to the best of my knowledge the only thing the AFC does is complain. He also beats up (rightfully so) on the tragedies of PNC leadership issues but fails to address the leadership crisis within the AFC.
I strongly advise the AFC to stand back a bit, think about what they really want to do, and then proceed. The party has not managed its internal issues well. The public is certainly confused about who is the leader of the AFC, and that problem is compounded by the disaster with their coalition thing.