Is the NDP Beyond Hope?
The rejection of an excellent candidate for the NDP leadership race by three anonymous party members with nothing but a vague, broad response given by the NDP spokesperson is outrageous.
The statement made by the NDP spokesperson was,
“The leadership process must be fair, transparent, and focused on candidates who are running in their own right. After reviewing the application, the party concluded that this threshold was not met in this case.”
Aside from being extremely broad, it also doesn’t answer the question, why was she considered unfair, lacked transparency and was “not running in her own right”? The NDP is making assumption that even though Ms. Mugyenyi has had a long history of advocacy and activism, as well as a cv to shore up her abilities to be an effective leader, that she is only representing that of her partner’s political agenda. This is offensive.
The NDP’s equity statement is as follows.
“Discriminatory speech or conduct that is racist, sexist, transphobic or homophobic hurts and divides us. So too does discrimination on the basis of ability, age, ancestry, religion, language, class or family status.“.
The NDP is projecting their behavior on a potential candidate where there is no indication that the accusations bear any weight. It is sexist to suggest that she is carrying her partner’s mantle. It would be very strange if they did not share the same political beliefs and policy initiatives.
I have found her campaign to be very transparent. I think she is incapable of not doing so. No hypocrisy can be found in her work, her words, or her relationships. On the other hand, the NDP has acted in an undemocratic fashion, made unsubstantiated accusations – ones that could easily subvert Ms. Mugyenyi’s work that affects people’s lives and acted without transparency.
Racism flooded my mind when I read her candidacy was denied. The explanation given fails the test of fairness and transparency. The decision rendered was made behind closed doors under complete anonymity. Without a clear statement by the NDP, one has to wonder.
After the catastrophic defeat in last April’s election, the NDP explicitly stated it wished to return to their roots. This recent decision indicates that it’s lost it’s way back to its founding principles. The NDP’s lack of transparency is undemocratic. No opportunity was provided for NDP members to weigh in prior to a decision being rendered. The members of the vetting committee were appointed, not elected.
The NDP needs to reconsider its decision. Failing to do so, the New Democratic Party will continue to slide into irrelevance and cost any political future.