The results of the current national and regional elections have already confirmed that anyone who believes that regime change will in itself set Guyana on the path to ethnic unity and development are deluding themselves. The ethnic division is as stark as it has ever been and whichever of the two large parties win these elections will leave one ethnic block extremely disgruntled and reluctant to cooperate in the process of national development in any meaningful manner. Even more troublesome the notion that any of the smaller parties could possibly mitigate such a massive level of estrangement by cooperating and keeping in office a plurality government is even more of a pipe-dream. Indeed, depending upon how the latter is configured, it could deepen the ethnic divide. Therefore, regardless of who wins or loses these elections, unless they are followed by deep governance reforms Guyana’s political problems will not be solved in a timely manner. Ingrained political theory cannot take precedence over the logic of social facts.
