OURS is a relatively young nation and an even younger democracy that got fractured during the PNC era of party paramountcy and institutionalised rigged elections.
The national elections of 1992 and afterwards marked a new chapter in the history of our country and once again the embracing of democratic norms. A new and appreciably positive political culture seems to be emerging and this  augurs well for our country. Within the PPP, the towering personalities of former Presidents Dr Cheddi Jagan and Mrs Janet Jagan are no more and this presented the PPP with perhaps, for the first time,  a situation whereby there was more than one nomination for the party’s presidential candidate.

The manner of Mr. Ralph Ramkarran’s withdrawal from the process for the election of the PPP’s presidential candidate has earned the admiration and respect of many. It is obvious that he placed the unity and togetherness of the party above everything else.
Such dignified and statesmanlike behaviour is a worthy example for other politicians to emulate, and surely has an element of patriotism and is an influencing factor in the evolution of a new political culture in Guyana.