FOUNDING leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Cheddi Jagan, was, last Thursday, recognised for his contributions to the country’s modern electoral democracy.
Giving recognition to his life and work was Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall. The Attorney-General was, at the time, speaking at the Cheddi Jagan Annual Lecture 2022 at Red House, Kingston, Georgetown.
The lecture was held under the title, “Cheddi Jagan and the PPP’s Contribution to Electoral Democracy in Guyana through Litigation and Consequential legal reforms.”
According to the Attorney-General, Dr Jagan passionately embraced the concept of a constitutional democracy.
This concept that he embraced was constructed on the axis of the separation of powers, respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens and a government elected by fair and free and transparent elections at periodic intervals.
Most of the former President’s political life was dedicated to pursuing same.
“Almost the entirety of his political life was dedicated to the pursuit of these objectives. This singular attribute puts him in a class and a category of his own,” the Attorney-General said.
According to Nandlall, in his view, Jagan’s greatest legacy remains the political party he birthed on January 1, 1950.
During the lecture, the Attorney-General reflected on a number of instances where there were electoral irregularities dating back to the 1968 general elections.
However, Nandlall indicated that it was on approach to the 1992 elections, that Dr Jagan and the PPP, through persistent litigation, were able to lead the struggle to democratic reforms to be implemented.
This, he said brought free and fair elections to the country after some 28 years of perverted elections.
“Capitalising on the valuable lessons learned over the years of struggle, including actions in the court system, Dr Jagan and the PPP successfully canvased for a reconstituted elections commission, the presence of international observer teams to observe elections and counting of the ballots at the place of polls among other things.”
This was as a result of statutory and constitutional reforms, and, as such, those elections were observed by international and national observers and declared to be free and fair.
Nandlall said that along every step of their political journey, Dr Jagan and the PPP were the “juggernauts” of modern electoral democracy in Guyana even as democratic electoral reforms continued progressively at the level of the Constitution and via legislation under successive PPP governments which he mentioned continued even after Dr Jagan’s death.
