DEVELOPMENT practitioners have long established a correlation between democracy and development. This fact has found expression in the experiences of several countries including Guyana, where, for nearly three decades, growth and development were stultified thanks to undemocratic and authoritarian rule by the then-PNC regime.
It was not until the restoration of democratic rule on October 5, 1992 that the tide of economic development and growth shifted in a positive direction.
One would have thought that the lessons of that period would serve as a guide to the architects of that sordid past, many of whom are still around and hold leadership positions in the PNC. That, however, is not the case.
Twenty years since the last rigged elections, the PNC, now the major partner in the APNU+AFC coalition, attempted, albeit sheepishly and clumsily, to repeat what transpired in the December 1985 elections with a view of perpetuating its tenure in government by undemocratic and fraudulent means.
It is worth recalling that the then-President, Desmond Hoyte, who succeeded Forbes Burnham, had promised that the elections would be ‘above board’ but it turned out instead to be one of the most blatantly and massively rigged elections in the country’s history, with the PNC allocating to itself 42 of the 53 parliamentary seats. The PPP was allocated eight seats, the United Force and the Working People’s Alliance given two and one seat, respectively.
Two decades later, on March 2, 2020 the spectre of rigged elections had again reared its ugly head with the connivance of rogue elements from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Secretariat. Indeed, were it not for the intervention of the Courts, most notably the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and other democratic forces in and out of Guyana, the APNU+AFC coalition may have succeeded in pulling off yet another rigged election.
It is a day that will be remembered with shame, as several bogus iterations of concocted results were submitted by the GECOM Secretariat, all purporting to project an APNU+AFC ‘victory’. In the end, these were all overturned by the GECOM Commission in favour of the genuine votes cast based on the recount exercise, a process that lasted for nearly six months.
All of that, thankfully, is water under the bridge and Guyana is now on the cusp of major transformation and modernization. Never before in the country’s history has there been such a tidal wave of developmental activities encompassing all spheres of economic and social life.
The development train is touching all the regions of Guyana. Only a few days ago there was the sod-turning ceremony for a new state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium at Palmyra, Berbice, located in Region Six.
President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali took the opportunity to outline the PPP/C’s economic vision and the mega-projects to be undertaken in the region and the country. According to President Ali, “in three short years, we have embarked on this journey. This journey to rebuild, to rebuild stronger. We have made it our mission to work in every single community, to ensure that every single Guyanese are part of the prosperity of our country.”
Apart from the massive stadium, there are several other big projects on stream including a modern hospital, a new four-lane highway, call centres, water treatment plants, a state-of-the-art technical training centre, expansion and construction of farm-to-market access roads, modernization of drainage and irrigation systems.
To these must be added the deep-water port and, further down the road, a new high-span bridge across the Berbice River which will allow for the continuous flow of traffic and merchandise.
These are no mean achievements for which President Ali and the PPP/C administration must be given full credit. And as pointed out by Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was also part of the sod-turning ceremony, the PPP/C administration is all about development.
Development, he said, must not be taken for granted but something that has to be fought for. This is all the more necessary in view of the ‘pessimists’ in our midst who could not care less about the country and its forward march.
The developmental momentum has touched all corners of the Guyanese society in positive ways. For President Ali, development has to be seen against the background of the over-arching ‘One Guyana’ vision’; one that does not separate people but instead lift them together. This, the President observed, is indeed worthy of celebration.
