THE PPP is the only political party that has contested and won all national elections in Guyana since its formation on January 1, 1950.  I should add all free and fair elections, since it is a well known fact that all elections from 1968 to 1985 were blatantly and massively rigged to ensure that the PNC remained in office, after it was catapulted into office by the machinations and intrigues of western powers in the elections of 1964.
The PPP is also the only political organisation that has not changed its name or its symbol since 1950. It is true that the PPP added a Civic component during the 1992 elections, but this did not result in any change of name nor symbol, the CUP, which remained the party’s symbol until this day. This is quite unlike the PNC which is now hiding under the fig leaf of APNU with two open hands as its symbols, but which in reality is the selfsame PNC along with some insignificant parties with no real political constituencies. Other political parties for varying reasons and at varying stages in their political life had cause to change not only their names and symbols, but more fundamentally their ideological and philosophical positions which they initially embraced but out of opportunistic reasons they unceremoniously abandoned.
I have always maintained that the strength and invincibility of the PPP over the decades have nothing to do with race and ethnicity as is often projected, but everything to do with the universalistic values embraced by the party since its formation over six decades ago which transcended the narrow confines of race and religion. In other words, it has to do primarily with the power of ideology which has served the party well over the decades and which has transformed the PPP into a strong, disciplined and invincible political organisation, comparable to any other in the Caribbean and beyond.
This is why intellectually the PPP stands tall among all the other political parties which more often than not take positions on the basis of narrow sectarian interests rather than that of the society as a whole. This is the main reason why the PPP has been successful in drawing from among its ranks some of the most advanced individuals from across the broad spectrum of the Guyanese society, men and women of honour and integrity who are motivated not by the lure of power, wealth and influence, but by a genuine desire to contribute to the growth and development of the Guyanese society.
This election is no different. There are so many people of substance and character who feel honoured to associate themselves with the party, but cannot all make it on the party’s list simply because of the limitations imposed by the electoral rules. There are countless others who prefer to offer support in their own modest and quiet ways, the so-called unsung heroes and heroines of the party, who did what they have to do without any expectation of reward.
Already, there are strong indications that the PPP is making strong inroads into erstwhile strongholds of the PNC and the UF. In the early 1960s, religion and race were exploited by the imperial powers to prevent the PPP from winning political office. Ideology was particularly used against the PPP in Amerindian communities where the PPP was projected as ‘ungodly’ and even ‘demonic’. However, it did not require much thinking and intellect for Amerindians to recognise that those who were preaching hate for the PPP were the very ones who were actually responsible for the denial of Amerindian peoples the basic necessities of life, including the right to sound education for their children; the right to proper medical care; the right to elect their own Village Captains; and more fundamentally, the right to a dignified and culturally rich and enlightened life.
They have come to the realisation that the only party that really cared for the material and cultural advancement of the Amerindian peoples is the PPP/C. This explains why the PPP today is the largest and most respected political party in the country today. It is the largest Amerindian party in the country after having eclipsed other parties including the UF (now TUF) and the Guyana Action Party (GAP) led by Mr. Paul Hardy. Amerindians jokingly refer to him as Paul HARDLY since he is today hardly seen in Amerindian communities after a brief political stint in the 2001 elections.
As for our Afro-Guyanese brothers and sisters, there is now much greater appreciation of the tremendous work done by the administration to upgrade the quality of life in predominantly Afro-Guyanese communities including Linden, New Amsterdam, Buxton, Plaisance and Victoria among others. The myth being peddled that the PPP/C administration has been discriminating in favour of Indo-Guyanese has been demolished with the proliferation of schools and health centres,  new housing schemes and the regularisation of squatter settlements such as Sophia by the PPP/C administration. More Afro-Guyanese are today the owners of homes and vehicles than under any other time including the much touted “Feed, Clothe and House the Nation” Scheme by the PNC which saw a mere 13,000 house lots distributed, a dismal failure by any standards. Desmond Hoyte had even abolished the Housing Ministry during his tenure in office, an indication of the care and interest they have for the housing needs of the Guyanese people.
Compare that to the current record of the PPP/C administration where close to one hundred thousand house lots were created and distributed. This is probably the highest per capita house lot distribution in the entire Anglo-phone Caribbean. Not only are house lots distributed but the government has put in place mechanisms for easy access to credit at relatively low repayment terms, something that no government in the Caribbean has been able to do.
The PPP/C administration has been doing all of this not because it wants to, as it were, look good in the eyes of the Guyanese people, but out of a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the Guyanese people. This is why people from all ethnicities will vote overwhelmingly for the PPP/C and for its Presidential Candidate, Donald Ramotar come November 28, 2011.