By Hoccas Siwel
Owing to our political history, interparty violence is usually expected during any election cycle. This is the time when hired thugs mostly transported from far off places are let loose on the electorate attempting to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed franchise. This scenario has been the norm during our elections to the extent that opposition campaigners won’t dare campaign in areas considered party strongholds, especially of the incumbent. They would be seen as provoking the outcome of their intransigence.
From this premise, one would not expect a party in power to perpetrate or promote violence. The reason is that with ultimate power resting in the hands of the executive, there is no need to sweat the small stuff in the form of lower level or council or intraparty election. There is certainly no need for partisans to go all out against each other to the extent of one or more people losing their lives and or properties and places of business.
One would expect that with Parliament, the Police, the Military, the ACC, NEC, and other critical yet appointment based positions including the treasury under the control of the executive there would be peace within the ranks of the SLPP.
But this is not presently what’s happening in the New Direction government, for which even partisans are asking, ‘what’s going on?’ Why is there so much intraparty violence in the SLPP? Belonging to the same party one would think that should Mr. A lose to Mrs. B then there is really no loss as when time comes to go head-on against the opposition, Mr. A’s supporters are expected to rally behind Mrs. B to maintain the party’s hegemony over that particular area.
But with the current SLPP infighting that we are witnessing, compounded by the many financial and other scandals and the present hardships that the people are experiencing, chances are should elections happen right now, the SLPP would not stand a chance against the opposition.
The projection here is that the party would have to resort to what it knows best – violence – to win the election, aided and abetted by all their appointed cronies, including and especially the police, to obstruct, arrest, assault, and lock people up; the military, to intimidate and assault people; the courts, to jail people, whether they are guilty or not; and the NEC, to guarantee the incumbent a victory by naming certain ballots as illegal, etc; the media, to spread mis and disinformation to the public.
Consequently, the disunity in the SLPP is worrying hardcore supporters who say their divided house or party needs mending, that anything less would mean a one term presidency for the Paopa government. The fear is that the violence would spill over from the primaries to the councils to the constituencies all the way to the presidency. The obvious tense nature of the jostling for position and other benefits that we are seeing in Paopa is expected to result in the losing partisan discouraging his/her people from supporting the winning partisan in the election that would really matter.
Partisans say there are structural and other issues in the SLPP that are manifesting themselves in all these acts of violence, corruption, nepotism, and the like. Using rhetoric to cajole the grassroots into voting them into power, the party leaders, upon winning the election, have distanced themselves from said electorates. With no plans for them save employing them for violence and other meaningless or scanty work, these young men and women they use to perpetrate violence on the electorate have been demanding of those that hired them their just reward. And we all know that anyone that is given fish and not taught to fish will always come back for free fish, which supply is not always certain. Suffice to say that these youngsters now know that there is nothing like ‘free fish,’ as even the ‘free fish’ they receive was caught, delivered, and sold at a cost.
Tired of being given fish and not being taught to fish, they are now demanding their share of the national pie. We have seen what happened at the SLPP headquarters at Wallace Johnson Street when these young men were asked to vacate the premises. These uncontrollable men are a time bomb waiting to explode on anyone that gets in their way.
Surely, all these things should not be happening in a party that’s in power; surely not during the first term. So, what is the advice here for Paopa? Self preservation would demand you get your house in order. Be warned that these are tried, tested, and proven adages that, ‘a house divided cannot stand’ and that ‘anyone who cannot control or rule over his or her household cannot rule God’s house,’ which for the purpose of this write up is the country/ward/constituency.
You have lost the confidence of the voting public, even those of your party. Should this continue, beware that the writing is already on the wall. Those that can interpret its meaning would tell you to engage in actively reforming the party, which failing to accomplish would spell disaster come any election cycle.