Lessons from local govt elections

THE EDITOR: Now that the local government elections are over, the two major parties have claimed victory and the commentators on both sides have found ways to praise them for their endeavours, it is time for a reality check.

The EBC figures seem to agree that the percentage of voters that participated were similar to previous years: somewhere around 35 per cent of the registered voters.

Given that the list of registered voters is about one million one can safely assume that just over 600,000 voters did not take part in the election.

If one were to allow for voters that are no longer in TT and those that have passed on it is fair to bring that figure down to about 400,000. It is possible then for one to conclude that 400,000 citizens decided not to participate in the elections.

Whatever their reason, there are more people not interested in voting for the two major political parties than those who voted for them.

If TT is to ever move from a country of perceived ineptitude, corruption and inefficient use of its resources and crime to one of prosperity, safety and development, those 400,000 voters are the ones to make the change.

The elections results show clearly that the base supporters of the two sides are not interested in anything but their party’s victory at the polls. There is absolutely nothing that anyone can say or do to cause the core voters of the two major political parties to change. That is reality one.

The second fact that one must face is neither of the two major parties can solve the critical issues of economic recovery, infrastructure development, security in the communities, judicial efficiency, improved public service or efficient healthcare. Both parties had the resources and opportunity to make these necessary changes and failed.

The third fact is neither of the two major parties could win the general election without the support of the real third force – the nonaligned voters. Moreover, the third force – former NAR and COP voters – has grown from over 100,000 to over 300,000 and if properly motivated can change the election results without an alliance with either of the two major parties.

There are however some very real impediments to forming a viable alternative to the two major parties. The first is that of getting 41 people to offer themselves for political office.

While finding supporters is easy, finding quality representatives is not as easy. In a small society like TT one’s employment, business or sustenance is directly or indirectly linked to people aligned to either of the two parties. This makes it very difficult for individuals to publicly show support for another political organisation.

The other factor is financing. The people who finance the major political parties have gotten used to sustained levels of nepotism and are unwilling to support new organisations that stand for integrity, fairness and the eradication of corruption.

Then there is the question of leadership. The third force is only willing to support personnel with vision, appropriate education, charisma, commitment to country and who are of impeccable character.

The solutions to these challenges require the patriotic support of every citizen. The small parties with their few representatives can unite and among themselves find 41 people to represent every constituency in TT. Financing can come from small contributions from the people rather than large sums from the few.

The leader ought to come from among those wishing to be prime minister. After the coming together of the small parties, there should be three national debates where those hoping to be the leader should be questioned on vision, track record of integrity, economic and development plans and security. The people through electronic response should choose the eventual leader.

The way forward is clear. We either continue with a group of people with allegations of ineptitude and corruption, a track record of failures in infrastructure maintenance and security or embrace the challenge of ending the tradition of voting along racial lines.

The DPTT will continue to solicit support for a united TT as we chart a realistic path to prosperity and safe communities. We publicly call on the leaders of all the non-UNC and PNM political parties as well as the general public to join with us and offer hope to the people.

STEVE ALVAREZ

political leader, DPTT