Guyanese have always sought unification to address their affairs

INSPITE of the presence of fractured forces and diversity, which continue to influence both not-so-positive and positive relations, there exists evidence of a consistently strong undercut to forge a national character out of oneness.

This undercut has presented itself in various forms, and in this year, designated “National Renaissance”, attention is being paid to the political aspect of this relationship. When President David Granger, in addressing the opening of the Alliance For Change (AFC) headquarters back in January 2016, said coalition politics is here to stay, his statement was grounded in historical fact, and was woven into the nation’s tapestry. On January 1st, 1950, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Guyana’s first mass-based party, was established on coalition relationship of groups and influential persons. It had the aim of improving the wellbeing of citizens and the working class, and self-government/independence was seen as a pivotal factor in pursuit of this agenda.

The original PPP included the Women’s Political and Economic Organisation; the Political Affairs Committee; ‘remnants’ of the British Guiana Labour Party, and notables like Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, Eusi Kwayana of the African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa (ASCRIA), Rory Westmaas, and Martin Carter (national poet) among others. This was a coalition of diverse demographics, such as race, class; urban, rural and hinterland dwellers; and professions — a pattern that continues into the present.
After the split between Messrs. Burnham and Jagan, Mr. Burnham, on 5th October 1957, established the People’s National Congress (PNC), which comprised factions which had left the PPP and persons from the United Democratic Party, besides other influential persons, such as Mr. Llewellyn John, member of the League of Coloured People. At the 1964 elections, which were contested by the PPP, PNC, and The United Force (TUF) headed by Mr. Peter D’Aguiar, the PNC and TUF joined forces to defeat the PPP, and thereafter formed the Government. It should be said that though there were differences in strategy by the varied political forces, their desire, and that of the union of Guyanese, for self-government remained intact.

In and outside of holding constitutional office, there have been coalitions. One such is the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), which comprises an alliance of the Movement Against Oppression, ASCRIA and RATOON. In the mid-1980s, the opposition PPP, along with others, formed the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD). While varying accounts as to what led to the group’s disintegration exist, suffice it to say that the alliance fell apart. Another force — Guyanese United for Action, Reform and Democracy (GUARD) — was formed with similar agenda, and this amalgam included influential persons such as Messrs. Yesu Persaud and Samuel Hinds. Mr. Hinds became associated with the created CIVIC arm of the PPP, which contested elections as the PPP/C in 1992 and henceforth.

The PNC, in 1997, formed a similar alliance, called the REFORM, and contested the elections as a single force (PNCR). In 2006, there was an unorthodox coalition of sitting Members of Parliament when Messrs. Raphael Trotman (PNCR), Khemraj Ramjattan (PPP/C), and Mrs. Sheila Holder (WPA), who had quit their respective parties, formed the AFC and contested the elections. Then there have been pre-elections coalitions to contest, as in the instance of the Guyana Action Party (GAP) and Rise Organise And Rebuild (ROAR); the WPA/GAP; PNCR-One Guyana Platform in (PNCR-1G) in 2006; A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which included the PNCR, WPA, GAP, Justice for All Party, et al for the 2011 elections; and in 2015, the APNU+AFC. For the upcoming General and Regional Elections, there continue to be alliances- the most established APNU+AFC and the recently unofficial coalition of three of the smaller parties that have agreed to merge their lists. While the editorial makes no pretense to certainty that it captured all the various forms of political coalition, groups and individuals involved, it holds true to the evidence that Guyanese have always sought unification to address their affairs.

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