THE late President Cheddi Jagan wrote in his famous book `The West On Trial’: “The struggle will be long and hard. But win we must. Win we will.”
And how prophetic were his words. Indeed, the struggle for the restoration of the right of Guyanese to freely and fairly elect a government of their choice was a long and epic one.
It took 28 years and on October 5, 1992 the first free and fair elections were held since 1964 and Guyana is today observing 18 years since the rebirth of democracy.
Following the Anglo-American machinations under the then Cold War hysteria, which saw the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government removed and replaced by a coalition administration formed by the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the United Force (UF), there was a sustained and persistent struggle to return the country to democracy.
For a long time since 1964, the PPP was the lone voice in the wilderness.
But in the mid-1970s, other political forces came on board, including the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA) led by the late Dr. Walter Rodney, and Guyanese became more optimistic about seeing the restoration of democracy.
The political momentum slowed after the 1980 assassination of Dr. Rodney and the WPA went into steady decline. The other parties eventually petered out and it was left to the tried and tested PPP to continue and intensify the struggle for fair and free elections it had started.
The involvement of former United States President Jimmy Carter helped to broker sweeping electoral reforms which led to the watermark October 5, 1992 polls.
Guyanese turned in huge numbers to cast their ballots on that day, but last-minute attempts were made to derail the elections through organised street violence in Georgetown.
The Army and Police quelled the violence and terror and Mr. Carter’s intervention saw calm being restored.
On October 9, Dr. Jagan was sworn in as President of Guyana, creating history by becoming the first person to return to government after being in the opposition for 28 years.
Dr. Jagan deliberately chose that date for his swearing in because it was on that date in 1953 that his government was removed by the British and the Constitution suspended.
Much has transpired in these18 years and all of the socio-economic problems have not been solved.
But no one can deny the significant and impressive strides in all sectors. These achievements are even more remarkable considering that the government in October 1992 inherited a huge debt burden of US$2.1 billion, dilapidated infrastructure and roads, rundown schools and hospitals, shortages of medical supplies and personnel, and essential food items.
As a nation, Guyanese can feel proud that they have better schools, hospitals, roads, water supply and self-sufficiency in food, among other meaningful tangibles.
October 5, 1992, in a very real sense, is a truly significant milestone in the country’s history because it was a turning point in the developmental process which was in the doldrums for almost three decades.