Analysis by Rickey Singh

AS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO today celebrates its  52nd anniversary as an independent nation, politicians and parties in Guyana are engaged in tentative moves to promote interest in the notion of enhancing democracy and national unity via a more “inclusionary process” in governance of the nation.The multi-ethnic, multi-cultural people of these neigbouring states have much in common. However, in the area of governance politics, there remains a sharp difference in the vital area of electoral system, with Guyana’s

based on proportional representation (PR) while T&T’ remains committed to the first-past-the-post model. But the focus today is on Guyanese politics:
There, a most encouraging development is cautiously taking shape amid customary bitter rhetoric and posturing which sustain social and political divisions that at times could be quite suffocating in a country whose national motto proudly proclaims commitment to: “One People, One Nation One Destiny.”
Long afflicted by the curse of racial divisions that’s rooted in wicked self-serving divide-and-rule politics of British colonialism, there is the current phenomenon of the country’s two dominant political parties separately and differently talking the language of “inclusionary governance” and “inclusionary democracy”.
This developing scenario is occurring against the backdrop of increasing public relations ‘talk’ about bridging divisions and working for improved democratic governance ahead of new parliamentary election that’s at least 14 months away.

To cut, for now, the histrionics pertaining to electioneering politics involving the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the main opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) since the 1950s, both are differently signalling a welcome awareness of the need for new, creative political initiatives.
For a start they would be aware of the changing realities of functioning in an ever-increasing globalised political environment with staggering alternatives for instant public communication and an evident need to move away from entrenched divisions in preference for new thinking to energise the electorate with special focus on a new generation of youthful voters while not taking the old and faithful for granted.
Consequently, having been kept out of governance of the country for a quarter century-from 1964-by a process of institutionalised electoral fraud, systematically perpetrated by the PNC- the PPP was to return to lead a post-independence government in October 1992 with a civic component. Hence its new official tag as “People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

Electoral arithmetic
With the passing of its Founder-leader, Forbes Burnham in 1985, and under the successor leadership of then President Desmond Hoyte, the PNC opted to add ‘reform’ to its name. Hence its prevailing PNCR status to the PPP’s “civic” component.
Armed with their new hyphenated names, both the PPP/C and PNCR contested the October 1992 general elections—the first free and fair elections since 1964. All of the elections since were convincingly won by the incumbent PPP/C until that of November 2011 when it failed, by one seat, to secure an overall majority in the 65-member National Assembly.
The PPP/C secured 32 of the seats and 48.06 percent of the valid votes with a 65 percent response by the electorate. The PNCR, in collaboration with a coalition of small parties contested under the umbrella of APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) to obtain 26 seats based on 40.83 percent votes. The remaining seven seats were secured by the Alliance For Change (AFC) with 35,333 and ten percent of the votes.
The one-seat opposition majority in the 65-member parliament has proved a very challenging experience for governance by the PPP/C in face of repeated displays of perceived reckless slash-and-burn politics in debates for approval of the national budget.
This recurring scenario had compelled President Donald Ramotar’s administration to resort to court actions, with positive outcomes. But there remain outstanding cases to be addressed.
However, when the combined APNU/AFC Opposition threatened the Government with a “no confidence” motion in parliament where it feels confident of securing victory, based on a combined one-seat majority, President Ramotar lost no time in publicly declaring his intention to authorise a snap general election, consistent with his constitutional powers as Head of State.
No confidence motion

The APNU/AFC Opposition subsequently submitted their no-confidence motion to the Clerk of Parliament. It’s against this background that the governing PPP/C and the main opposition APNU, led by the PNCR, are pushing ahead with new political initiatives ahead of an expected snap general election in early 2015, if not during the latter part of this year.
While the PPP/C is moving towards expanding into what’s being marketed as a likely wider “National Democratic Front” (PPP/NDF), the PNCR’s leader, David Granger, a retired Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force, was last month passionately telling PNCR’s delegates at the party’s 18th biennial congress of the desire for inclusive governance.
If, therefore, all goes well, in the coming weeks Guyanese should be able to assess how stimulating political rhetoric on “national unity governance.” or the creation of a “national democratic front alliance” can assume practical forms that help drown prevailing cynicism about their national motto-“One People, One Nation, One Destiny”
The leadership of the PPP/C
Personally, I look forward to the approaches to be pursued by both President Donald Ramotar (leader of the PPP) and Mr. Granger (PNCR leader) to learn whether their outreach for ‘inclusionary governance’ would include once former long-serving faithful ‘comrades’ who are among some current well-meaning critics of perceived wrongs and shortcomings, that should be corrected in the interest of better governance and more meaningful national unity.
I have a reasonably good idea of the enormous contributions by the great national patriot and pioneer for “inclusionary governance” and national unity in Guyana–the late President Cheddi Jagan. He headed the first PPP/C government—after a quarter century of successively rigged national elections by the PNC. Sadly, death took him away too soon before completion of his first term.