I WOULD like to address the common sentiment shared by many Opposition supporters that Guyana is operating under a dictatorship. The Opposition has again led their supporters into a fool’s alley. I would like to examine what is meant by a dictatorship and its characteristics and walk you down a path of sane and decent reasoning.A dictatorship is a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator. I would like to reiterate the fact that the Government of Guyana does not have absolute power. For the Government of Guyana to pass budgets and bills, the Opposition is required to vote on whether it is passed or not. This is definitely not a trait of a dictatorship. In fact the Opposition of Guyana has turned down quite a few projects. Another characteristic of a dictatorship is the lack of right to choose their leader. Guyanese have enjoyed free and fair elections for the past 23 years. It can therefore be described as a democratic nation. Opposition parties however, have been reported to have continuous rigging of their party elections. So the cap fits them!
In dictatorships, the right to private property is often restricted or abolished. In Guyana this is most definitely not the case. We enjoy and overwhelming freedom to ownership. In fact, under the current administration, thousands of house lots were distributed; this is a far cry from what actually happens in dictatorships.
Also, in dictatorships, the media is censored. In Guyana this is definitely not true; just look at some of the anti-government headlines at the front page of newspapers! Guyana’s media houses have a lot of freedom to publish; in fact opposition media houses publish volumes of stories against the government without any evidence.
The rumors of dictatorship in Guyana are imaginary. Many of the freedoms we now enjoy were lacking in the years before the PPP. The Opposition find themselves in a position where they have to lie to supporters. They often mislead the public using these freedoms. Do you really think they would’ve been able to speak against a dictatorship publicly? Do you really imagine free and fair elections in a dictatorship? Their supporters should reason honestly and then decide if the statements merit any support.
ADRIAN MANGAL