Editorial:
The Grenada elections are over and the electors have spoken on behalf of all the Grenadian people. The long spoken-about wind of change which has been blowing through the Caribbean politics and which has blown “some undesirables into office” has also blown through the tri-island Nation.
This election could very well be described as “the mother of elections” since it was a hard fought one between the two main contenders – New National Party (NNP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC). The NNP, being the incumbent, had an unfair advantage over the other Parties by a long, long way. It was obvious that their election budget was exorbitantly massive to include a dramatic rise in employment in the weeks and months leading up to polling day.
It means therefore that from a strictly voting perspective, most of the electorate was able to see through the obviously deceitful tactics of the incumbent; hence, whilst they accepted the “dark-night generosity”, they spoke loudly with their fingers on Election Day to resist hypocrisy. However, the still massive vote for the NNP is indicative of the worryingly high percentage of nationals who are prepared to sell their vote and their country for a few cents.
A new NDC Administration, as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said “cannot engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism”. In a world of instant gratification, the Grenadian people would expect the new Administration to deliver instantly, and of this the new Ministers would certainly be aware. They are also aware that the former Government would not make a transition smooth and easy and might even have gone to the full extent of making the country ungovernable.
The Grenadian people, on the other hand, must exercise a great degree of tolerance and patience. With a new Government taking over after a 13-year reign of the predecessor, and with different ideologies, the nation should allow for some time of settling in and for some in-house matters including house cleaning. It appears, too, that a large portion of the people of this country is waiting to hear something – maybe some secrets that might be unearth and arouse more curiosity.
All these notwithstanding, the new NDC Administration cannot afford to allow the horse to starve while the grass is growing. Schools will open in two months and parents – both poor NDC and all NNP supporters will be looking to cash in on the free school books that were promised. The planting season is at its peak and full-time farmers as well as backyard gardeners are anxiously awaiting the signal and initiative to jump- start the process of resuscitating agriculture.
The bottom line is that there is no honeymoon for this new Administration; they would be expected to deliver on their promises as soon as they catch a little breath. The wages of workers who laboured up to the day before elections must be paid and that would be no wait-and-see game for carnival enthusiast whose time is only one month away and school expenses two months away.
The Fearless Weekly takes this opportunity to congratulate all successful candidates, who are now Honourable Members of Parliament (MPs), as well as the NDC which secured the most seats and hence selected to govern the country for the next term of five years. Quite a great deal has been said in Opposition as a Government in waiting and on the campaign trail. The Grenadian people are now looking to practicalities and to see and experience the style of governance offered by the NDC.
