Auntie Cheryl writes from Chaguanas, Trinidad, where she has lived her entire life, voted in every election since 1986, and has very strong opinions about doubles, governance, and people who do not vote.

Oh gosh. OH GOSH. People, Auntie Cheryl so happy she could buss.

Kamla win. KAMLA WIN. After all the years of suffering under PNM — the crime, the cost of living, the gas price, the empty talk — the people of this blessed twin-island republic have risen up and said: ENOUGH.

And they didn’t just win, people. They won the election! The UNC won seats! The swing was real! Auntie Cheryl was up watching the results and she wake up all the children in the house when the numbers started coming in. My neighbour Ramesh came to the gallery at midnight to lime and we listened to the radio together like old times.

Now. The promises. Pensions for senior citizens — MY MOTHER IS A SENIOR CITIZEN. She needs that pension secure. Kamla understand this. Stuart Young and the PNM never sat with a senior citizen and really asked what their life is like. Salary increases for public servants — my daughter works for the government and she has not had a meaningful increase since I cannot remember when. Children’s hospital reopened — Auntie Cheryl will believe it and she will celebrate when it happens.

Fifty thousand jobs! Now, Auntie Cheryl is not going to pretend she knows exactly where fifty thousand jobs are hiding. But she knows that under the PNM, young people were leaving this country in droves. Change sends a signal. Hope is not nothing.

The tariffs from Trump — yes, this is a real problem. But negotiating with America is better done from a position of energy and optimism, and that is what this new government brings. Kamla has met presidents before. She knows the room.

To everyone who voted: thank you. To everyone who stayed home: allyuh miss the moment. Come next time.

Auntie Cheryl going to make some cook-up now. It is a celebration day.

— Auntie Cheryl, Chaguanas, Trinidad

[Auntie Cheryl is a fictional character representing the euphoria of electoral change, which has a half-life of approximately 18 months. Her views are her own. The Guyana Daily Brief does not take positions on T&T elections but notes that doubles should be a human right.]