The declaration of the preliminary results of the November 28, 2011 general and regional elections by the Chief Elections Officer brings to a close an unfortunate period of unease and angst in the population, which was precipitated by the inordinate three-day delay in the announcement of the results. The declaration states that the APNU garnered 139,678, 40.8% of the vote – 26 seats in parliament; the AFC 35,333, 10.3 % of the vote – 7 seats in Parliament; and the PPP 166,340, 48.6 % of the vote – 32 seats in Parliament.
Contingent upon the certification of these results and their acceptance by ‘the people’ as reflecting the true will of the electorate, the PPP has ostensibly won a plurality of the votes cast in the general election (48.6%) thereby winning the presidency in accordance with Article 177:2 (b) of the constitution. The opposition parties have won 33 seats combined.
Clearly, a 52% majority of the Guyanese electorate rejected Mr Ramotar’s candidacy and the PPP at the polls. Consequently, any government made up of PPP members alone will be a minority government. Hence, CGID believes that Mr Ramotar and the PPP indubitably lack a legitimate mandate to govern Guyana with a PPP only cabinet. Suffice it to say that any attempt to do so will be ill-advised and should be strongly resisted and challenged by the parliamentary majority.
In the interest of the nation, the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) recommends that President Ramotar enter into immediate consultations with the other parliamentary parties with a view to securing a modus vivendi which will facilitate a government of national unity, and engender national harmony and reconciliation.
We further suggest that consideration be given to the following formula: PPP awarded the presidency; APNU awarded the position of prime minister and the AFC awarded a position of vice president. Additionally, cabinet or ministerial portfolios should be awarded to each parliamentary party based on, or close to the proportionality of the votes received in the general election in accordance with the afore-mentioned preliminarily declaration. Moreover, heads of government departments, agencies, state boards , etc, should be appointed after meaningful consultations with and approval of the prime minister and vice president.
Once a modus vivendi has been worked out in good faith, and the Parliament constituted, we recommend that the constitution be amended to reflect this arrangement for a specific period of time.
Contemporaneously, a constitutional commission should be appointed by the Parliament to study the 1980 constitution, with its amendments, and recommend drastic reforms for enactment by the Parliament within a specific time-frame.
The results of the election are disappointing. They again demonstrate a deeply entrenched predisposition to racial identity politics.
Sadly, this predilection was exacerbated and exploited by the odious politics of Mr Bharrat Jagdeo, who many believe openly appealed to ethnic identity politics during the campaign.
There must be no more ethnic polarization of Guyana. The national motto of ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ must no longer be an intangible promise to the Guyanese people. Currently, our country is at a crossroads where the campaign ends and governing the country for all Guyanese begins.
It is, therefore, incumbent upon all leaders in the Guyanese polity and society, to engage in a deliberate dialogue to address the incommodious issue of politics based on race and cultural identity, the outcome of which must be constitutional enshrinement of enforceable prohibitions against abuses as well as enumerated guarantees of minority rights.
It is only through such a process of rapprochement that we can strengthen our democracy and move forward in unison to develop Guyana. The nation stands at a dramatic junction. All Guyanese yearn to leave behind the dubious, immediate past which was mired in bad governance, evidence of widespread corruption, racial bias, undeveloped social structures, a lack-luster economy and a polarized society.
This is therefore your moment to do something big for the country! In the interest of national cohesion and a long-overdue united, all-inclusive governance, respecting all ethnic and other aspects of the Guyanese society, I call upon President Ramotar and the leadership of the APNU and AFC to act like the statesmen and women that Guyana deserves, and immediately commence discussions to develop a denouement consistent with the aforementioned suggestions by CGID, so as to restore unity and good governance to Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke
