PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has re-affirmed Guyana’s commitment to the ideals of democracy and the full respect for human rights. That commitment was made during a recent United States Department Summit for Democracy hosted by President Joseph Biden. The two-day summit focused on combatting corruption, safeguarding against authoritarian rule and promoting human rights with the aim of establishing an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies through collective action.
The summit could not come at a better time in world history when democracy is under threat in several parts of the globe. As noted by President Ali, it was not so long ago that Guyana faced a severe threat to its democracy, when attempts were made by the APNU+AFC Coalition to subvert the will of the Guyanese electorate. It took the collective effort of the local and international community before the attempt to rig the last general and regional elections were thwarted. The United States played a significant role in safeguarding our democracy, for which as a society we have to be thankful.
If there is one thing that can be said of democracy, it is that it cannot be taken for granted. The United States itself was given a stark reminder of the fragility of democracy when attempts were made to challenge the results of the last presidential elections which saw the unprecedented storming of Capitol Hill, allegedly by disgruntled supporters of former President, Donald Trump. That action has left a permanent scar on the democratic credentials of the United States, which, over the decades, had prided itself as the bastion of democracy in the world.
In the case of Guyana, democracy was denied to the Guyanese people for nearly three decades by the PNC regime which managed to perpetuate its rule through a combination of force and fraud. The country paid a heavy price in terms of economic and social retrogression and suffered a breakdown of the moral fabric of the society. Guyana was reduced to the poorest country in the western hemisphere and life for the average Guyanese was a living hell.
It was not until the intervention of the United States and much arm-twisting by the Carter Centre that democracy was finally restored to the country on October 5, 1992. Elections since then were generally free and fair, except for some PNC-generated tensions and destabilisation efforts to unseat the PPP from office. The May 2020 General and Regional Elections were the closest we have come since the infamous days of blatantly rigged elections. Fortunately, we survived that shameful episode and attempts are now underway to consolidate our democracy.
As observed by Guyana’s President Ali, democracy is indivisible and cannot be maintained nationally unless it is sustained internationally. In this regard, the Guyana Government is taking firm measures to strengthen the foundation of democracy in Guyana and has also pledged to play its part in championing the cause of democracy in the world at large. According to President Ali, ‘the global chain of freedom is only as strong as its weakest link. Democratic enhancement and renewal, therefore, require global effort; one that takes full account of the multidimensional aspects of democracy, including the provision of conditions for economic progress’.
Autocracy and dictatorship have no place in our modern and civilised world, and, in the words of President Ali, must not be allowed to become pandemics, crossing borders and infecting political processes across the globe, particularly infecting poor and vulnerable countries whose people have little to loose.
As Guyana progresses to higher levels of development and prosperity, the need to create a stable and enduring democracy become all the more important. It is an established fact that development and human progress flourishes best in an environment of democracy, as our own experience in Guyana has so forcibly demonstrated. Development practitioners have long pointed to the close correlation between a culture of democracy and human progress. Any rupture of democracy therefore is an assault on the human condition and must be uprooted with our collective might.
United States President said that he wanted to host the summit because, ‘Here in the United States we know, as well as everyone, that renewing our democracy and strengthening our democratic institutions require constant effort.’ Democracy, he said, does not happen by accident. We have to renew it with each generation. And this is an urgent matter because the data we are seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction.
The Guyanese President was joined by several other leaders drawn from government, civil society and the private sector. The summit coincided with International Human Rights Day which was observed on December 10, to raise awareness about the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being. The day is also in celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948.
