IT is now all history. A Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly were elected at the start of the Tenth Parliament, Thursday afternoon.
The election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker could be seen as a betrayal to the cause of national unity. Indeed, the absence of national unity and mistrust in this country have contributed to our lagging behind in some key areas of development.
The people recall that the November 28 general and regional elections last year produced a result that showed the PPP/C winning the majority of the votes cast.
This gave that party the right to the presidency, and its presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar, was duly  sworn in as the new president. But although Mr. Ramotar was elected president, the allocation of seats gave the PPP/C 32, the APNU 26 and the AFC 7 seats in the 65-seat National Assembly.
This gave the combined opposition a one-seat majority in the National Assembly.
The election results provided the Guyanese people with a minority government for the first time in the history of this country, and it was never going to be easy for President Donald Ramotar and his government.
But the business of state must go on, and in a matter of hours, President Ramotar summoned the leaders of the two opposition parties for talks on the way forward for the country.
It should be recalled that during its election campaign, the bigger of the two opposition parties, APNU’s main theme was ‘putting country first’.
It is in this light that President Ramotar invited the leaders to what was described as tripartite talks which would have opened up the way for consensual agreement on matters of grave concern, and point the way forward for the future development of the country to serve the interests of all the people. 
The election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker to the National Assembly was one such matter which should have been arrived at by consensual agreement. This was agreed upon by the President and three parties represented in the country’s Parliament.
But lo and behold, when President Ramotar announced the convening of the Tenth Parliament for Thursday, 12th January, 2012, when the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker would have been the first business of the new House, the APNU and the AFC, true to form, threw tripartite meetings and consensual agreements through the back door, held secret meetings on the issue, and deals were cut.
To the chagrin of President Ramotar, the governing party and its 166,340 supporters, Raphael Trotman of the smaller opposition AFC was elected and sworn in as Speaker of the National Assembly with Deborah Backer of the APNU being his deputy, and for the first time in the history of Guyana, the Speaker of the House was elected from among the opposition, a situation that is new to the political culture of this country.
We recall that for the 19 years the PPP/C  ruled by majority government, while it held on to the speakership as is the practice in most, if not all Commonwealth countries, they never contested the position of Deputy Speaker, allowing it to go to the opposition instead.
This was not the case last Thursday when the events that unfolded gave rise to questions of parliamentary democracy for which the incumbent has fought so hard to preserve.
If the charade in the House on that day is an example of what is yet to come, then life will not be easy for the government. The combined opposition would use its one-seat majority in the house to block any bill, any motion put forward by the government. Such a situation does not augur well for the people of this country.
When situations like this develop, they will render the government incapable of running the affairs of the country as the opposition would also make unrealistic demands repeatedly. When this happens, the President with no other choice would be forced to call fresh elections.
It will be recalled that some time ago, sister CARICOM State, Trinidad and Tobago had experienced an almost similar situation. As a result the country held three elections in three consecutive years before the stalemate ended. This is not good for Guyana and its people. The opposition parties have to recognise that the people want to move on with their lives in a dignified and united manner, and this is the best time more than ever to realise this dream.