Guyana: A Shaky Democracy
By: Dhanpaul Narine in the ‘West Indian’ Newspaper
The prize for happiness in politics has to be awarded to the Alliance for Change (AFC) in Guyana. This was a political party that was formed a few years ago to contest the elections. At the recently concluded 2011 elections the AFC has emerged as the Party that can conceivably hold the balance of power in Guyana. The extent to which the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) can genuflect and make compromises with the AFC and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will test the resolve and the statesmanship of the new President, Donald Ramotar.
For the first time in the modern politics of Guyana a sitting President has failed to hand over a majority to his successor and questions will be asked of Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo and his style of leadership. Was Jagdeo’s leadership a contributing factor in the PPP’s failure to win an absolute majority? Was there complacency in the ranks of the PPP and did they take the vote for granted? The spin-doctors of the PPP support groups are trying to put a brave face to these and other questions but President Ramotar has expressed disappointment at the fact that he does not have a workable majority.
The PPP won but it was a hollow victory. It’s plans and policies can be frustrated and important pieces of legislation can be held up if APNU and the AFC decide to apply pressure. An early test of this will be seen in January 2012 when the budget debates are held. It was all so different a year ago when the PPP was riding high and President Jagdeo was said to be the most popular politician in Guyana. Many of his supporters were calling on him to run for a third term. He campaigned for Mr. Ramotar to be President and a meeting was convened in New York to introduce the candidate to the public.
At that meeting the AFC and PNC supporters shouted in unison their opposition to the Government. It is interesting to note that Mr. Moses Nagamootoo was still in the ranks of the PPP. Mr. Ramotar outlined his vision for Guyana in which he called for more improvements in education, health and welfare. He was confident of an absolute majority at the time. Mr. Ramotar was of course not the only candidate for President from the ranks of the PPP. The others who threw their hats in the ring were Mr. Clement Rohee, Ms. Gail Teixeira, and Mr. Ralph Ramkarran. Indeed Mr. Ramkarran’s supporters took out full-page advertisements in local newspapers in New York to support his candidacy. Then there was Moses Nagamootoo.
Mr. Nagamootoo had been a member of the PPP for over 50 years. It is no secret that he wanted the top job and he even pointed out that Cheddi Jagan himself was happy with that idea. But the political line in the sand was drawn and Nagamootoo found himself the odd man out in the PPP’s plans. He decided to resign and to join forces with the AFC. It did not need a crystal bowl to see that this would damage the PPP. Nagamootoo could very well have been responsible for the loss of two or more seats to the PPP.
What about the impact of APNU? Granger was hit with personal attacks for his role in the PNC and the rigging of elections under the Burnham and Hoyte regimes. The PNC votes held up and the 26 seats that APNU won made little inroads into PPP territory. Rather, it showed that the APNU vote was based on race. There are those who argue that the presence of Dr. Rupert Roopnarine made a big difference to APNU but this is not proven statistically. One irony was the sight of Dr. Van West Charles in opposition to David Granger when previously they were on the same team.
The Party that actually increased its share of seats is the AFC. It acquired seven seats, one more than it did in 2006. But this single seat has made all the difference between an absolute majority and a minority government. There is the suggestion on various blogs and websites that perhaps the PPP should try to woo Mr. Nagamootoo back into the fold. This is rather naïve. Politics does not work this way. Mr. Nagamootoo is now a member of the AFC and he is part of their machinery. He takes his instructions from their leadership. What about crossing the floor? The Constitution does not allow for crossing the floor and giving your seat to another party since permission must be given by the party to vote with another party in Parliament. Burnham apparently thought of the loopholes before he drafted the Constitution.
Where does Guyana go from here? How can it make progress in view of the current state of affairs? There are those who say that the minority government is the best political arrangement for Guyana. The major parties will be forced to work together. This makes sense only if the parties are committed to dialogue and a common sense approach to governance.
One of the foundations of any democracy is the extent to which competing parties are willing to have dialogue with each other. Any government worth its salt should be able to tolerate fair and balanced criticisms of its plans and policies. As far as the former is concerned President Ramotar has signaled his intention to have an open door policy in meeting with the opposition. He has met with Mr. David Granger from APNU and Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan from the AFC to discuss matters of mutual concerns. This is healthy and should be encouraged.
The second tier in a democracy concerns public debate on policies that can include the media, the canvassing of opinions from a wide cross-section of the community through television and radio and newspaper interviews and in extreme cases street protests and demonstrations. The latter was particularly effective in the Arab world when people took to the streets to agitate for change.
In the case of Guyana the elections were certified as being free and fair by international observers. The count took several days and the declaration was delayed by recounts. But this did not detract from the credibility or reliability of the count. Why would the ruling Party rig an election with one seat short of a majority? Despite the statements that the elections were transparent APNU’s supporters took to the streets and the police responded with rubber bullets injuring several persons.
The police said that the march was illegal and it was unfortunate that force had to be used but that they had to maintain law and order in the interest of all Guyanese. The first task is to appoint a Speaker of the National Assembly and since the PPP does not have a majority the Parties will have to agree on a compromise candidate. This means that they have to work together and hopefully this cooperation will extend to other areas as well.
The next election is scheduled to take place in 2016 but it can happen earlier. The major political Parties will no doubt keep this in mind as they embark on the business of governance.
By: Dhanpaul Narine in the ‘West Indian’ Newspaper
The prize for happiness in politics has to be awarded to the Alliance for Change (AFC) in Guyana. This was a political party that was formed a few years ago to contest the elections. At the recently concluded 2011 elections the AFC has emerged as the Party that can conceivably hold the balance of power in Guyana. The extent to which the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) can genuflect and make compromises with the AFC and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will test the resolve and the statesmanship of the new President, Donald Ramotar.
For the first time in the modern politics of Guyana a sitting President has failed to hand over a majority to his successor and questions will be asked of Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo and his style of leadership. Was Jagdeo’s leadership a contributing factor in the PPP’s failure to win an absolute majority? Was there complacency in the ranks of the PPP and did they take the vote for granted? The spin-doctors of the PPP support groups are trying to put a brave face to these and other questions but President Ramotar has expressed disappointment at the fact that he does not have a workable majority.
The PPP won but it was a hollow victory. It’s plans and policies can be frustrated and important pieces of legislation can be held up if APNU and the AFC decide to apply pressure. An early test of this will be seen in January 2012 when the budget debates are held. It was all so different a year ago when the PPP was riding high and President Jagdeo was said to be the most popular politician in Guyana. Many of his supporters were calling on him to run for a third term. He campaigned for Mr. Ramotar to be President and a meeting was convened in New York to introduce the candidate to the public.
At that meeting the AFC and PNC supporters shouted in unison their opposition to the Government. It is interesting to note that Mr. Moses Nagamootoo was still in the ranks of the PPP. Mr. Ramotar outlined his vision for Guyana in which he called for more improvements in education, health and welfare. He was confident of an absolute majority at the time. Mr. Ramotar was of course not the only candidate for President from the ranks of the PPP. The others who threw their hats in the ring were Mr. Clement Rohee, Ms. Gail Teixeira, and Mr. Ralph Ramkarran. Indeed Mr. Ramkarran’s supporters took out full-page advertisements in local newspapers in New York to support his candidacy. Then there was Moses Nagamootoo.
Mr. Nagamootoo had been a member of the PPP for over 50 years. It is no secret that he wanted the top job and he even pointed out that Cheddi Jagan himself was happy with that idea. But the political line in the sand was drawn and Nagamootoo found himself the odd man out in the PPP’s plans. He decided to resign and to join forces with the AFC. It did not need a crystal bowl to see that this would damage the PPP. Nagamootoo could very well have been responsible for the loss of two or more seats to the PPP.
What about the impact of APNU? Granger was hit with personal attacks for his role in the PNC and the rigging of elections under the Burnham and Hoyte regimes. The PNC votes held up and the 26 seats that APNU won made little inroads into PPP territory. Rather, it showed that the APNU vote was based on race. There are those who argue that the presence of Dr. Rupert Roopnarine made a big difference to APNU but this is not proven statistically. One irony was the sight of Dr. Van West Charles in opposition to David Granger when previously they were on the same team.
The Party that actually increased its share of seats is the AFC. It acquired seven seats, one more than it did in 2006. But this single seat has made all the difference between an absolute majority and a minority government. There is the suggestion on various blogs and websites that perhaps the PPP should try to woo Mr. Nagamootoo back into the fold. This is rather naïve. Politics does not work this way. Mr. Nagamootoo is now a member of the AFC and he is part of their machinery. He takes his instructions from their leadership. What about crossing the floor? The Constitution does not allow for crossing the floor and giving your seat to another party since permission must be given by the party to vote with another party in Parliament. Burnham apparently thought of the loopholes before he drafted the Constitution.
Where does Guyana go from here? How can it make progress in view of the current state of affairs? There are those who say that the minority government is the best political arrangement for Guyana. The major parties will be forced to work together. This makes sense only if the parties are committed to dialogue and a common sense approach to governance.
One of the foundations of any democracy is the extent to which competing parties are willing to have dialogue with each other. Any government worth its salt should be able to tolerate fair and balanced criticisms of its plans and policies. As far as the former is concerned President Ramotar has signaled his intention to have an open door policy in meeting with the opposition. He has met with Mr. David Granger from APNU and Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan from the AFC to discuss matters of mutual concerns. This is healthy and should be encouraged.
The second tier in a democracy concerns public debate on policies that can include the media, the canvassing of opinions from a wide cross-section of the community through television and radio and newspaper interviews and in extreme cases street protests and demonstrations. The latter was particularly effective in the Arab world when people took to the streets to agitate for change.
In the case of Guyana the elections were certified as being free and fair by international observers. The count took several days and the declaration was delayed by recounts. But this did not detract from the credibility or reliability of the count. Why would the ruling Party rig an election with one seat short of a majority? Despite the statements that the elections were transparent APNU’s supporters took to the streets and the police responded with rubber bullets injuring several persons.
The police said that the march was illegal and it was unfortunate that force had to be used but that they had to maintain law and order in the interest of all Guyanese. The first task is to appoint a Speaker of the National Assembly and since the PPP does not have a majority the Parties will have to agree on a compromise candidate. This means that they have to work together and hopefully this cooperation will extend to other areas as well.
The next election is scheduled to take place in 2016 but it can happen earlier. The major political Parties will no doubt keep this in mind as they embark on the business of governance.
