I will split the vote

THE EDITOR: The theatrics of the two major political parties (PNM and UNC) is ridiculous and irresponsible. It is amazing that many Trinidadians/Tobagonians still swallow every meal fed to them by politicians.

Since independence, the political landscape has been plagued with failure and disappointment. If we are being frank, we would agree that the failure and disappointment are understatements for our country after 58 years of independence. Nonetheless, we vote for the PNM and the UNC.

I have been observing the scenario for this year’s election and it is heartbreaking that in 2020 there are nationals who still vote according to race, who refuse to vote, or who vote because “my granny is a PNM/UNC.”

This election is going to be thrilling but extremely important. Whoever wins will be steering the TT ship in a post-Petrotrin and post-covid19 world for the next five years. It’s astonishing that people would still blabber that politics does not affect them. Nonetheless we vote for the PNM and the UNC.

The truth is we live in a bubble. Should we be complaining about our governance when we vote for the PNM and the UNC every five years?

One can argue that the other political parties are not seizing the opportunity to show themselves as the change our country needs. This is very true. The other parties need to get their act together. However, we do not conduct due diligence of other parties.

It is appalling that many people cannot name six political parties when there are 19 contesting the polls. In my opinion, it is our civic duty to vote for real change. We should be more open-minded and see what other parties are offering. Nonetheless we vote for the PNM and the UNC.

Handling covid19 well, paving roads and hoping that the Opposition “lets go money” if it returns to power cannot be the criterion for selecting a party. Now is the time to focus on plans that would pull our country out of the hole we are in. We cannot be misguided by irrelevant back and forth between the PNM and the UNC.

Recently the Prime Minister accused the Opposition of instructing “agents” at WASA to turn off water in some areas (to make the Government look bad). Let’s look at this logically. If he is accusing the Opposition based on propaganda, then he is wasting our time. If he is accusing the Opposition based on evidence, the relevant authorities should be taking action. Since I am yet to see action taken, I am concluding that we are living in a Hollywood movie.

Meanwhile, the Opposition is fumbling on how “blank” the Prime Minister is and revealing to the nation that the “sun” will kill the coronavirus. Nobody wants to have the real conversations. Nonetheless we vote for the PNM and the UNC.

This has been the pattern for decades. Die-hard PNM and UNC supporters pay no attention to the lack of ideas from their party to move this country forward. Paolo Kernahan said in an article that “under the best of circumstances, it’s difficult for many Trinis to process facts beyond what their toxic politics tell them.” I wish that statement was a lie.

What are the plans to diversify the economy? What are the plans to bring in foreign currency? What are the plans to clear the billions in debt from WASA, T&TEC and Petrotrin? And the list goes on. But Trinidadians/Tobagonians have a funny way of forgetting. Nonetheless they vote for... You should know the answer.

I am not insinuating who we should vote for. The crux of the matter is this: if we are complaining about governance, we should inquire about which party should really be there. We cannot do the same thing every general election and expect change. So I will split the vote. No fancy words, theatrics or politrics can fool me. I may be 25 years old and too young for this song, but calypsonian Chalkdust said it right, “I in town too long.”

CHRISTOPHER W BASCOMBE

Arouca