THE amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) have been passed in the National Assembly after a year of public consultations, in which the APNU+AFC failed to participate or contribute towards, although claiming to be interested in the enhancement of Guyana’s electoral laws and initiatives that would safeguard the will of the people.

The primary goal of the changes to the election law is to analyse the entire process—from registration to the announcement of results—in order to make sure that each stage is clear cut and transparent.

The significance of these revisions cannot be overstated, especially in light of what happened in the most recent general and regional elections, and with Local Government Elections upon us.

Every Guyanese is a stakeholder in the election’s accountability and transparency. The vote is sacred and cannot be tampered with in any way. The final deciding factor in which party forms the executive and who is chosen to represent us in Parliament is the totality of individual voters’ preferences.

The right to vote did not come about easily. Prior to 1953, not everyone was allowed to vote. That right was limited only to the rich and the propertied class. It was not until the formation of the PPP in 1950 that pressure was intensified to have universal adult suffrage, which was eventually granted just prior to the holding of the 1953 elections. It was only then that all Guyanese, 21 years and over were allowed to vote. That was a monumental gain at the time when the expatriate class exercised enormous influence over the colonial government.

Interestingly, the League of Coloured People (LCP) opposed the granting of universal adult suffrage. The League was an African middle-class organisation which later became part of the People’s National Congress (PNC) after the split of the PPP in 1955. The records will show that it was the PPP that again advocated for the voting age to be reduced from 21 to 18 years and it was the PNC that opposed the move.

But the biggest blow to the franchise took place in the 1968 elections when massive electoral fraud took place by the Burnham administration to perpetuate the life of his regime after the United Force was kicked out of the PNC-UF Coalition government just prior to the elections. For nearly three decades the PNC rigged its way to power, making a mockery of that hard-fought right to vote. Voting became an exercise in futility as the PNC regime used every conceivable means at its disposal to return itself to power against the wishes of the electorate.

All of that sounded familiar, having regard to what transpired in the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections when the APNU+AFC Coalition again attempted to return itself to power by fraudulent means.

What it did not factor in this time, however, was the changing nature of the local and international environment. The days of party paramountcy had long come to an end and the justice system was no longer subservient to the Executive as was hitherto the case. The Cold War ended over three decades ago and there was no longer any appetite for rigged elections on the part of the international community.

Many Guyanese, particularly the younger generation, witnessed first-hand the APNU+AFC coalition’s brazen attempt to rig the elections with the assistance of some rogue elements within the GECOM Secretariat. It was a memorable encounter and another disheartening one that will live long in the memory.

In Guyana now, democracy is much more institutionalised than it was in the past, and it is harder to gain power through deceitful tactics. However, this does not imply that we should take anything for granted. The past still has a hold on it, but there is no reason why it cannot move past that repulsive history with modern thought and a concern for the democratic well-being of the society.