What makes Guyana’s democracy so fragile?

Feb 25, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
This is a rejoiner to Dr. Prem Misir’s letter of February 23rd in Kaieteur News titled: “Democracy in Guyana and PNC’s callous legacy”. Lest the readers lose the topic being discussed it is whether Guyana is a democracy or not.
Dr. Misir in his first letter of February 19th said. “Guyana’s democracy is fragile”. I thought this was a remarkable admission coming from a man whose official title is “presidential advisor”, and whose desk is a few yards away from President Jagdeo’s. I openly wondered what he was really advising the President to make Guyana a real democracy.
So what are the flaws that make Guyana’s such a “fragile democracy”? I pointed out in scores of letters published in the independent press over the last six years, that the ruling party has no support from the Africans in Guyana who account for 35 percent of the population; that the ruling PPP is perceived as a government of the Indian majority group and save and except for the 9 percent Amerindian support, all its votes come from Indians.
This is a fundamental flaw in a democracy. I have argued repeatedly that the ruling party’s mandate lacks broad-based multi-racial support, and as a consequence it is not a proper mandate to govern a country with such a unique racial break-down: Indians at 50 percent, Africans at 35 percent. (COHA report puts the Indians at 48 percent).
Consider this scenario: Let us say Guyana has two counties or provinces. All the Indians are concentrated in one province and their numbers alone make up 50 percent of the population. The ruling party gets little or no support from the Africans who live in the second or smaller populated province. Now we know from our history books that such a situation will not endure because sooner or later the second province comprising mainly of Africans will secede.
Does Dr. Misir get it now? This is precisely what makes Guyana a fragile democracy. This is what makes Guyana an Egypt-like tinder box. This is what needs to be addressed by both ethnic parties in the land. Historically, both ethnic parties have been practicing something called “window-dressing” which in the 21st century is an obsolete concept and it will not work anymore.
Now several defenders of Dr. Misir’s position (given the widespread practice of phantom letter writers, it could very well be one person) claims the ruling party has been winning African votes, and therefore it has broad-based support. I know this to be false.
Although I have lived in the United States for the last 40-years, I return to Guyana regularly. I have done polling there in 1997, 2009 and 2010.
And, I have found no evidence of cross-racial voting between Africans and Indians with regard to the PPP and PNC. Each day I walked the streets of Georgetown and I polled one ethnic group only.
One day I would poll only Africans, another day Indians. On many days I could not find a single cross-racial voter.
Cross-racial voting is not 5 percent as many Guyanese are led to believe, nor the 10 percent Dr. Misir and his ruling party would have us believe.
I say cross-racial voting is no more than 2-3 percent. Let the ethnic parties do a poll for themselves. I challenge them to prove me wrong.
To make democracy work in this land that has been dominated by ethnic parties for over 50-years, the ethnic parties have got to transform themselves into genuine multi-racial parties and achieve a minimum threshold cross-racial support of 10 percent.
If this level of support is achieved the first test of democracy would be satisfied, namely, the pendulum of power would swing from one party to another (or coalition of parties) every 2-4 election cycles.
In responding to my central thesis about what ails Guyana’s democracy, Dr. Misir writes: “Indeed, if the new opposition were not unleashing measures of desperation over the last few years, Guyana’s democracy would have soared to greater heights.
It is always good to carry an effective opposition; but what is problematic is when that opposition applies distortions to tackle issues, as in the case of the global food and fuel price increases of 2008″.
Dr. Misir has lost me completely. It is as if I am talking apples and he is talking oranges.
Dr. Misir says he does not normally respond to people who challenge him with “minimally appropriate evidence”. I cannot be more specific about what makes Guyana’s democracy so fragile.
Mike Persaud

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What makes Guyana’s democracy so fragile?

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