The future
Editorial
So here we are teetering on the brink of the new millennium - or maybe not, if your perspective is that of a purist. But will it really make any difference to Guyana whether the new millennium starts next year or the one after? Well, the answer to that one is a little problematic, since the tea leaves are currently unreadable, the tarot cards are perplexing, the crystal balls are murky and the seers are silent. It is true that things change over time, but they rarely change punctually to fulfil the chronological requirements of an arbitrary calendar - no matter which calendar. It may be that by the year 2001 we would have had the referendum and the election behind us, and the shape of the future would be a little less opaque; but then again, the election could be postponed to the first two weeks of that year - the deadline being January 17. However, whether the people express their will in the coming year or the next, first all the myriad loose ends in connection with the constitution have to be tied up, and its provisions have to be drafted. And then there is the little matter of the Elections Commission which has to run firstly the referendum, and secondly the national election. While it has been agreed that the section of the proposed constitution dealing with the Elections Commission will be fast-tracked, the Oversight Committee which is responsible for drafting its terms has not been established as yet, despite the fact that its first report is due at the end of this month. If and when we do get that far, will all the political parties be able to concur on who should be the chairman of the Commission? It is a matter for speculation at the moment as to whether when the Elections Commission is set up, there will really be enough time for it to complete the immense volume of bureaucratic work that is necessary to prepare for the coming balloting process. Will we have voter ID cards again? If we don't, will everyone be satisfied that the election and perhaps even the referendum were free and fair? And if we do, can they be distributed in time? Then there is the question of who is going to pay for these elections. We have got into the bad habit of expecting foreign agencies to do so, although after the difficulties associated with the last occasion, will foreign donors rush forward to underwrite the cost of the new ones? In ideal circumstances, as a mature state we should start moving in the direction of paying for our own expressions of democracy, and not be dependent on outsiders to foot the bill. And of course, we cannot forget the matter of who is going to agree to observe the referendum and the general election this time around. These imponderables cover some of the formalities, so to speak, but there is also the matter of the politicians and the political parties to consider. Most people are looking forward to the coming election campaign with a sense of weariness and a little trepidation. There is much more bitterness in the air than there was the last time around, and it remains to be seen whether the politicians can exercise restraint in their personal utterances, as well as keep the behaviour of their supporters within the boundaries of public convention. Most of all, the million dollar question is will the results of the next general election be accepted by all sides, and will we be able to move on to the next democratic stage? Whether the beginning of the new millennium is celebrated in the year 2000 or not, the political future for Guyana in the short term is uncertain.
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