A test for parties

TOMORROW’S Local Government Elections are being held in a national political context that is likely to influence the voting far more than the routine exercise to elect members of the regional corporations. The turn-out at the polls may well provide an index to the feeling of the electorate on the dismal state of the country’s political life and their view of the effectiveness of the two main parties seeking their support. Since much of the power and authority of local government bodies have been centralised, elections at this level no longer generate the kind of popular involvement they once did. In fact, the results of these contests have become fairly predictable, with both parties retaining the support they traditionally secured in the national contest. Public interest in local government has deteriorated to the point where a recent poll found one third of respondents identifying their MP as their regional council representative.

Tomorrow’s exercise, however, does not fall neatly into that ritual category; it comes at the end of a campaign which had little to do with the affairs of local government bodies and were centred, in fact, on issues which agitate the national community and relate to the performance and status of the two main contending parties. In this context, the elections will certainly be more of a test for the Opposition UNC than the ruling PNM. Having been turned out of office and after last year’s decisive defeat in the General Election, the UNC has fallen on sorry times. The party has not been able to change its image since its government collapsed in October 2001 with the departure of three front-line Ministers. And in spite of efforts to change its ageing  leadership, the UNC has failed to resolve this vital issue. While we do not place too much credibility in the results of elections polls, the final one conducted by NACTA confirms the plight of the opposition party. According to its findings, more voters feel that several UNC MPs should resign and make way for new faces “who are not tainted and who will be more dynamic.”

The poll also indicated that since the departure of Mr Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, the UNC leadership has been unable to arrest the slide in its support. And that under its present leadership, the party is “unlikely ever to return to government and that its support will continue to shrink.” The question is, will the findings of this poll be supported by tomorrow’s ballot? A marked shift in voting patterns, particularly should many United National Congress supporters stay away from the polls, may very well be an indicator, in addition to what had been stated earlier, of dissatisfaction with the Party’s leadership and a continuation of the General Elections. As far as the PNM Government is concerned, the continuing anxiety of the country over the high incidence of murder, robbery and kidnapping and the inability of the authorities to deal with it may have some influence on the level of the party’s support. The nature of tomorrow’s election, then, seems more of a test of the feelings of supporters of both parties about their performance rather than about the quality of services provided by local government bodies. The parties themselves have created this kind of election and we can only wait to see what the verdict of the people will be.