Dr. David Hinds rightly pointed out that in the current environment, “local government elections are less about communities and more about national parties” (KN, 30/9/18). Dr. Hinds’ position converges with that of Organisation for the Victory of the People (OVP).
When the political parties were lining up to contest the local government elections in 2016, OVP stayed out of the race, because we believe that political parties should not participate in local government elections, especially APNU+AFC and the PPP, since they already dominate the national parliament and the regional councils.
OVP is committed to radical democracy. This means the empowerment of the masses of our people– politically and economically– from the bottom up. We believe that all citizens have a right to participate in the decisions that affect them, their families and their communities. We see local government as an arena to prepare and challenge the people to administer and be the decision-makers in their own communities. Representatives of the political parties are more concerned about imposing the agenda of their respective parties on the communities, than putting the interests of the communities first. OVP will encourage and support community groups who organise themselves into effective organisations, capable of reclaiming their communities. True democracy is direct and participatory, and that means there can be no more decisions about us, without us!
Gerald A. Perreira
Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)