Dear Editor,
Our democracy is still evolving to higher levels of inclusivity. And while there is no such thing as a ‘perfect democracy’, any departure from the principle of representative democracy based on ‘one man, one vote’ is fraught with all manner of dangers. The Constitution of Guyana makes provision for multi-party democracy based on free and fair elections. Prior to 1953, when the country was still under colonial rule, the right to vote was restricted to only those who met property, income and literacy qualifications. That, in effect, meant that several persons were denied the right to vote even though they were of voting age.
The PPP became the first political party to have won a landslide victory in the 1953 elections by winning 18 out of 24 seats in the Legislative Assembly. For nearly three decades, the will of the people was suppressed through rigged elections and authoritarian rule during the 1968-1992 period. One consequence of that democratic rupture was the economic and social decline of the country which, by the end of the 1980’s, was ranked among the poorest in the western hemisphere.
The search for greater inclusivity and participatory democracy is by no means exhaustive. In this regard, the decision by the current administration to re-activate the work of the Constitutional Reform Committee is a step in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Hydar Ally
