THE political cooperation that prevailed in Guyana before the major parties split into the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the People’s National Congress (PNC) in the 1950’s has not been recaptured since.

The divisions yawned wider when the United States, in connivance with the former British colonial powers, in the early 1960s, engineered civil disturbances and strikes that led to riots between the two major race groups, which included many deaths, in a bid to oust the elected PPP from government.

That era resulted in racial cleavages some of which still linger today.

The PNC, which came to power through the machinations of the British and Americans to keep the PPP out of office because of perceived ‘Communist’ misgivings, ensured it stayed in government by consistently and barefacedly rigging elections for almost three decades.

Throughout its long reign, the PNC eschewed all attempts by the PPP for any form of national alliance to restore the political cooperation of the 1950s.

With the end of its tenure in office when Guyana returned to the democratic fold of nations through free and fair elections in October 1992, the PPP opted for a form of national unity harking back to the old days by contesting the polls with a Civic alliance that included several top non-party members.

Under that PPP/Civic governance arrangement, the PPP holds the presidency and the Civic the prime ministerial slot.

In this form of shared governance that has already lasted 17 years, Civic members have also held other top Cabinet positions. The success of this arrangement has not prevented the PPP/C from seeking closer cooperation with the main opposition PNC Reform (PNCR) and other parties but the efforts have not borne much fruit.

After several years of hostility towards the PPP/C, the PNCR for its part has from time to time called for a form of shared governance which it is yet to clearly spelt out.

PNCR Leader, Mr. Robert Corbin, under pressure from those who want to unseat him, returned to the shared governance call last week without going into details.

He wants discussion with the PPP/C and others on a system of shared governance to be implemented before the 2011 national and regional elections.

“This system is not, as some misguided persons have been advocating, an arrangement to determine the President and Prime Minister”, the PNCR said.

That party says it wants a change from the current winner-take-all system.

While we await the response from the PPP/C, it is worth noting that President Bharrat Jagdeo last week reiterated that the government is open to healthy engagement with the Opposition to help develop the country.

But he stressed that the government will not be bullied into any arrangement.

“Cooperation with the Opposition is desirable but I can’t put the development of Guyana on hold until I get that cooperation”, he said, adding “because if it is not forthcoming, I will not be fulfilling my duties to the people of this country.”

“I was elected by them to improve their lives, so while cooperation is desirable I can’t wait forever for it to come. That is very different than saying I don’t want cooperation”, he said.

According to President Jagdeo, “We are prepared to engage in a healthy, open discussion with the Opposition about closer co-operation but it must be based on respect and what is good for Guyana. And it must not come with baggage of the past and people seeing skeletons or phantoms in every cupboard.”

He noted that some in the Opposition are not happy about this and see any form of cooperation, even engagements with the Government, as selling out and being very soft.

But those people, he said, have dated life spans (mentally) and are out of tune with the times.

“Because it’s only through engagement that you are going to have an arrangement where government and opposition will be working in an optimal fashion for the development of the country”, he said.

He noted that some of them still think they can support criminals or bully people into going the route that they want them to.

Clearly, health engagement is the preferred way and the nation awaits details of what the PNCR and others have in mind.