IF indeed the two opposition parties in parliament (APNU and AFC) are not bent on the politics of brinkmanship, then they should carefully reassess the dangerous trend in their behaviour to frustrate the process of cooperation with the government, even as they talk sweetly about commitment to “national unity” and “nation building”.
Their latest act of collaboration last Friday to take undeserved control of the key Committee of Selection of the National Assembly was not only contrary to the logic of proportionality, but it also raises a serious concern over the constitutionality of such a course.
As pointed out by Presidential Adviser, Gail Teixeira, quite experienced in parliamentary affairs, there are no provisions in the nation’s Constitution, or the Standing Orders of Parliament for recognition of a “combined opposition” as APNU and AFC would like the public to believe, in order to justify their having five seats on a new nine-member Selection Committee of the current Tenth Parliament, and the governing PPP/C four.
That development took place with the formal inauguration of the Tenth Parliament, addressed by President Donald Ramotar, following last November 28 general elections at which the PPP/C retained the Executive President position and, once again, emerged as the sole MAJORITY party, with the biggest bloc of valid votes, though losing control, by one seat, of the 65-member National Assembly.
As the people of Guyana know, the electorate returned three parties to parliament that had SEPARATELY sought their support to form a new government. The incumbent PPP/C secured 32 of those seats with 49 percent valid votes to APNU’s 26 seats with 40 percent; and the AFC got seven seats with ten percent

Proportionality argument
On the basis of proportionality, therefore, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who is Leader of the Assembly, proposed a 10-member Selection Committee as the primary body that would appoint other relevant committees and consistent with the electoral strength of the three parties as obtained at the November elections.
The arithmetic of this quite reasonable proposition meant that the PPP/C would have five representatives; four for APNU and one for the AFC. This composition would have been consistent with the spirit of the tripartite process that was earlier initiated by President Ramotar and which, indeed, had already resulted in initial meetings.
Instead, APNU and AFC, in defiance of logic and the evident need for serious approaches along the tripartite course, opted to go the route of political divisiveness by ignoring established parliamentary traditions and voting for a nine-member Selection Committee on which the PPPC would have four—the same as APNU–which has 26 seats (compared to 32 by the PPP), and the AFC one.
In so doing, APNU and AFC have set the basis for endless wranglings and gridlock politicking that could only retard the business of Parliament and, by extension, stultify Guyana’s social and economic advancement.
The question is whether this myopic political manoeuvring to avoid the PROPORTIONALITY argument for representation on the Selection Committee, as advanced by the PPP/C, and quite consistent with the Proportional Representation (PR) system on which national elections are held in Guyana for Parliament, was not a deliberate act of collusion between APNU and AFC, as earlier carried out by them for having both positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker?

President’s appeal
Well, President Ramotar, in setting out the philosophy, policies and programmes of his administration while addressing the inauguration of the current 10th Parliament, was quite blunt in warning against manoeuvres to hold the PPP/C –led government to “ransom” by gridlock politics that would clearly “stymie Guyana’s progress…”
The self-serving APNU/AFC alliance of convenience should at least recognise the arithmetic, the reality of the electoral results with an emphasis on the need for serious bi-partisan cooperation between the government and parliamentary opposition, as clearly and repeatedly articulated by President Ramotar.
The reality is, the PPP/C remains the MAJORITY party in this nation, though, for the present, with a minority of one seat in parliament only when APNU and AFC find it expedient to combine their plurality of ONE vote to frustrate bi-partisan cooperation.
In the circumstances, we conclude this editorial viewpoint with the firm observation by President Ramotar in his inaugural address Friday to the 10th Parliament:
“The composition of the Parliament”, he said, “ensures that no one party will be able to ride roughshod over the others”, and that they (the three parties) will work assiduously to find common ground….However, as willing as my government is to exercise patience, forbearance and reasonableness in the interest of all our people, my administration will not be held ransom to intractable postures. I therefore hope we can work together so that history will record that we succeeded at this time when we were put to the test…”
What a contrast to brinkmanship politics! As the saying goes, let those who have ears to hear let them hear. It is not a warning. This is sheer commonsense, practical approach for all parties that really want to be part of a process for concerted national progress in Guyana in an atmosphere of peace and unity.