THE coalition’s restoration of local democratic governance is one of the first and most significant kept promises of the APNU+AFC administration. Government’s respect for constitutional provisions pertaining to local government and its commitment to the ideal of placing decision-making power into the hands of citizens – as is expected of all true democracies – began long before the holding of local government elections (LGEs) on March 18, 2016 and November 12, 2018. Democracy is defined as, “A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections (Merriam-Webster).” Hence, in a republic of Guyana’s geographic size, cultural diversity, and population, democracy, by definition, does not and cannot exist in the absence of a robust system of local government. The PPP regime, therefore, that held power for 23 years prior to May 2015, has no claim to democratic credentials. In fact, considering that the PPP regime actively refused to adhere to constitutional mandates, going so far as to prorogue parliament to deny citizens their right to choose local representatives, arguably, places that regime squarely within the category of an anti-democratic, autocratic dictatorship.

Guyana’s current system of local government is based on a study of local realities and needs by the Constituent Assembly established by the National Assembly through Resolution NO. CXXIII of July 21, 1978. The findings were tabled in the National Assembly on August 5, 1980, by the then Minister of Economic Development and Cooperatives Mr. Desmond Hoyte.

The impossibility of having democracy in the absence of local government is unquestioned. Dr. Aurora Ndreu of the European University of Tirana, Faculty of Law, iterated the following findings in his paper, ‘The Definition and Importance of Local Government:’ “Local governance needs to happen when people live in a community and have sufficiently close interaction (Crawford, 1999), and we should not forget that the local institutions are there not only to provide various public services to citizens, but also to represent in the best way possible the will of the people” (Tindal, 1977).

Guyana’s constitution satisfies those requirements. Article 9 states that “Sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under the constitution.” And, Article 12 underscores that, “Local government by freely elected representatives of the people is an integral part of the democratic organisation of the State.”

Professor Ndreau wrote, “In order for this kind of government to function, the literature suggests that several conditions must be met: there should be a clear division of responsibilities between local and central government, and there should be a clear and easily identifiable division in borders. Each citizen should know to which local unit he/she belongs and to exercise his/her right of choice in this unit.”

Of course, those conditions are met in Guyana; the constitution provides as follows:
Article 71 (1) states that local government is a vital aspect of democracy and shall be organised so as to involve as many people as possible in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live.

Article 71 (2) makes clear that for this purpose, Parliament shall provide for a countrywide system of local government through the establishment of organs of local democratic power, as an integral part of the political organisation of the State.
Article 72 (1) says that Parliament may provide for the division of Guyana into 10 regions and into such sub-regions and sub-divisions as it may deem fit for the purpose of organising local democratic organs.

Given the foregoing, it follows that prior to the APNU+AFC assumption of office, Guyana was not a democracy. In other words, the current era of substantive democratic governance began with the renewal of local governance by the LGEs of March 18, 2016.
The commitment to restoration of democracy in Guyana was concretely expressed when the then Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier David Granger, wrote to former President Donald Ramotar on September 9, 2014. Brigadier Granger urged the former President to hold local government elections, he wrote, “Local government elections, last held in 1994, are a constitutional obligation and a democratic entitlement of the Guyanese people. It is not an option of the executive branch of government.”

Guyanese will recall that President Ramotar ignored the letter. The opposition leader then addressed the nation on September 18, 2014, and announced that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) would conduct weekly picketing exercises outside the Office of the President. All of these efforts were ignored by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime. And the rest is history.

Citizens will recall that the Ramotar presidency was noteworthy for a few important reasons: there was no vision, innovation nor transformation; instead, President Ramotar travelled overseas, attended photo-ops, cut a lot of ribbons, and attended many breakfasts, brunches, lunches, and dinners. Meanwhile, rumours of corruption abounded, and it was widely accepted that Bharrat Jagdeo pulled the strings of vicariously exercised presidential power.

On December 21, with the passage of a legally questioned no-confidence motion against the coalition administration, and the subsequent selection of Irfaan Ali – an arguably unqualified person – as the PPP’s presidential candidate, the possibility of a return to a Jagdeo-led puppet-presidency, and the backward step of the dismantling of our democracy became real. The prospect of a return to anti-democratic, autocratic, dictatorial governance, and the corruption, lawlessness, cronyism, nepotism, and division that accompany such a state of affairs should concern all Guyanese. That being the case, citizens have a patriotic duty to ensure that action is taken at all levels, to guarantee that Guyana remains a democratic country.