Recent research has found that apathy, growing unity and political maturity were among factors that contributed to the peaceful outcome of this year's polls.
According to Terrence Simmons and Roxanne Meyers of the Guyana Peace Builders Network, whatever the reason for the post-electoral stability that the country has experienced the most important thing now is finding ways to sustain it. That is what they set out to uncover when they spoke with key stakeholders after the elections.
At a public forum last week Simmons and Meyers presented preliminary findings of their five-week study, which suggests that by and large the society has rejected violence as a solution, and that there is an emerging political maturity among the country's leaders.
However, among the admitted limitations of the work is the failure to get input from either of the two major parties - the PPP/C and the main opposition PNCR. They also encountered great difficulty getting feedback from leaders from the Indo-Guyanese population. Simmons and Meyers said key stakeholders and organisations appeared reluctant to discuss the issue with them, despite a number of efforts made to get their input. Nonetheless, they both said they were open to meeting with representatives of any of the groups before the publication of the final report.
Relational and structural factors
Simmons said that long before the polls there were emerging signs of a general apathy. He cited the Guyana Public Service Union-organised marches in 2005. According to him, the protests failed to attract large numbers and eventually declined to a point where they had to be called off.
The findings suggest that people lost interest in marching and violence because they were pre-occupied with finding jobs, earning and even migrating. In fact, it was felt that some people have already migrated mentally.
A clearer indicator of general apathy, however, was the voter turnout. Though over 490,000 registered to vote, there was only a 69% turnout. Simmons said that although some people were ghosts, the fact remains that in excess of 100,000 people did not bother to vote on polling day.
Other respondents believed the Great Flood in 2005 forged high levels of unity among the population, as it was forced to seek a collective solution. Such unity was the main thrust of the social cohesion that some respondents credited with the relative post-electoral stability. "People got to know each other," Simmons explained to the meeting, "There was a sense of solidarity." Added to that, the UNDP's Social Cohesion Programme was cited as an influential factor as well as the Ethnic Relations Commission's Multi Stakeholder Forum initiative. Simmons said that the initiatives helped people to humanise each other and to identify common interests.
Much was made of PNCR-1G leader Robert Corbin conceding defeat. In fact, some respondents thought the gesture to be the "most important" agent for the giving the country time and space for constructive nation building. Simmons said Corbin emerged from the polls as a model political figure despite the apparent blow to his image that he has suffered among his support base.
Guyana's victory in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament was also considered a unifying event, evoking a symbolic sense of national unity in the run up to the polls, in the minds of some respondents. Additionally, some people speculated that the upcoming Cricket World Cup next year also proved to be a disincentive to violence, galvanising the push for political stability. "People were not prepared to jeopardise the country's investment in the World Cup," Simmons said, adding that others feared more damage to the country's tattered image.
Still there were others who, ever-conscious of the violence of the past, could only fathom the peaceful outcome as an instance of divine intervention. Certainly religious and other faith-based organisations supported initiatives aimed at building stability around the impending polls; the work of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO), which propagated a peace pact, easily stands out.
There were also peace campaigns that Simmons described as unprecedented in the country's history. He said these initiatives were bolstered by the support from the Diaspora, which sought to encourage political leaders to abhor the use of violence. (And since crime was such a hot button political issue, political leaders did not want to be linked with violence and extremism.) Additional support was garnered from legislative changes that had taken place since the last elections, like the passage of the Racial Hostility Act as well as the establishment of the Ethnic Relations Commission.
But, while there were prayers, initiatives for peace and even new laws, respondents also cited what, or who, was not there. In short, they suggested that "entrepreneurs of violence" were in very short supply around the time of the elections. In this regard, migration was thought to be a factor. So too was the absence of talk show hosts, who were remembered for inciting sections of the population with inflammatory language at the previous election. Also, although he is still being tried in the US, respondents concluded that Roger Khan's capture removed the possibility of major drug-related gang violence. Along the same lines, it was also believed that the impact of weapons, like in the brutal attack at Agricola just three weeks before the polls left few pre-disposed to violence.
Institutional factors
GECOM's efficient management of the polls was credited to the sheer commitment of the staff. The timeliness of the release of results was also commended by respondents of the survey. The media's coverage was also given much acclaim and the performance of the press corps was described as a sign of maturity.
Other big players in the setting of the tone were the financial stakeholders. GECOM and the Guyana Government signed a donor support pact with members of the international community, which some respondents felt engineered the biggest social pacifist programme. Some felt this was aimed at neutralising African segments of the population.
It was noted that the peace pact signed by political parties was essential to creating an environment conducive for the acceptance of the election results. Al parties signed except the PNCR-1G, but Simmons said the main opposition conducted itself in an exemplary manner both during and after the elections. The AFC was also singled out, for raising the bar on election rhetoric, setting the general, peaceful tone. The PPP/C's gracious acceptance of the results was also commended for inspiring goodwill among the general population.
The security presence was thought to be another disincentive to violence. More than that, it was felt to have reinforced the safety of the environment.
Looking ahead, many of the respondents favoured improving the performance of institutions. GECOM, some said, should pursue advance preparations of elections. One of the specific recommendations was for a fixed poll date, to take the guess work out of when elections would be held, while taking away what was described as the unusual advantage of the incumbent by naming the polling date. The early completion of tasks, such as the verification of the voters' list and the identification of the polling stations, were also suggested. Some respondents suggested that GECOM be more independent and more gender representative. Some saw the need for more direct interaction between GECOM and political parties, to keep them informed of decisions that have been made. Others thought that the commission ought to pursue a more robust public relations strategy as well as a well-thought out voter education programme to cater to the varying literacy levels of the population.
Simmons said that the need for civil society to become more engaged in the national life was emphasised. It was felt that it is essential for civil society to hold the political leadership accountable for the stewardship of the country. However, he noted that there are some members of civil society who are concerned about the absence of space to speak out without political reprisals. The Private Sector Commission (PSC) was singled out for stepping into the national space during the recent elections, albeit belatedly. Its more recent comments on the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime were highlighted, although there were those at the forum who felt that the PSC's recent stance has been out of pure self interest.
It was agreed that pursuing peace campaigns are a worthwhile venture for future stability.