When polls in Guyana close for its March 2 General and Regional Elections, and the votes are finally counted, the emergent, winning party democratically chosen to form the next government will begin overseeing a nation already on the road to significant, historical transformation.
Guyana became an oil-producing nation in January, starting a journey to national reconstruction that the IMF has indicated could see GDP growth of around 86 percent in 2020, an increase almost 20 times from last year.
Also, during the five-year tenure of the incoming government, IMF figures have forecast what was traditionally Guyana’s GDP output of around (US) $4 billion could expand to about (US) $15 billion by 2024. The IMF also notes potential for the oil sector to represent about 40 percent of Guyana’s economy in the next five years.
It is against such a background of transformative potential driven by incoming petroleum wealth that makes the upcoming March 2 polls one of the most important elections in Guyana’s modern history. Perhaps, its significance is similar to, and even more historic, than the 1992 polls that saw Guyana holding free, fair, and transparent elections for the first time.
Emergence of the lucrative oil economy and its inherent developmental potential for Guyana’s future have undoubtedly raised the stakes for the two main political parties, the APNU+AFC and the PPP/Civic. As the IMF has indicated, the flow of oil wealth is projected to be substantial in 2020, and would continue to expand for the next five years, which coincidentally, will be in tandem with the electoral tenure of the winning party.
The leaders of both parties are well aware that forming the next government on March 3, in this time of historic transformation, offers rich opportunities for future ascendancy through consolidation of its incumbency while in power.
Also, if the new government is successful in managing the forthcoming patrimony, then judicious spending of burgeoning petroleum revenues could mean nationals benefitting from higher incomes, improvements made to national infrastructure, and long-term diversification and modernisation of Guyana's other economic resources.
It would be win-win for the incumbent governing party, and for all of Guyana, including Guyanese in the diaspora committed to reconstruction of the homeland.
Both the APNU+AFC and the PPP/Civic are no strangers to the corridors of power, with each having received past mandates to govern Guyana since free and fair elections occurred in 1992. It means each party is eminently knowledgeable and experienced to lead Guyana in the forthcoming time of plenty.
However, at the same time, to put it very mildly, each party has made its own impacts on the national psyche that have contributed to, if not widened, the historic fissures that are dividing Guyanese society today.
The divisions are so systemic that last month, a solicitous Guyana Relations Commission issued a reminder following questionable PPP/Civic campaign utterances. It called on nationals, particularly politicians, to promote messages of peace and harmony in the buildup to March 2, while reiterating that election campaigning must be free of hate, intimidation, violence, and racism. As the ERC noted, “Such acts, which are counterproductive to the valiant efforts being made for the fostering of unity and harmony, have no place in society, and must be condemned.”
Also notable is the March 2 elections are finally occurring after significant delay by the APNU+AFC government to dissolve Parliament following the December 21, 2018 no confidence motion. Its nuisance challenge in the courts came at great cost, particularly to Guyana’s international reputation as a democratic state.
Guyana’s electorate is well-acquainted with the nation’s history, and aware of the pressure points that are constantly exploited by its politicians for narrow, partisan gains. With Guyana now inside the threshold to prosperity, it is incumbent on each voter to eschew partisanship, and instead to embrace unity and harmony by casting an informed ballot for our nation’s future.