The Opposition should curtail powers of the Presidency

Dec 03, 2013 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
It has been two years now since the opposition has controlled the majority and the legislative agenda in parliament. Instead of using their majority to curtail the constitutional powers of the President and the government (regardless of which party runs the affairs of the state), the combined opposition only seeks to rein in the PPP while it is in office and not implement any long term institutional or constitutional change that will forever weaken the imperial President and empower the people, as in the US.
The fraudulent 1980 Burnham constitution grants unlimited powers to the President, and the ruling party (even if a minority) more powers than those given to the U.S President and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. No effort has been made by the opposition to strengthen democratic institutions to serve as a check against the Presidency or to cut some of the powers of the President and restore them to the people.
Clearly, the actions of the two opposition parties show they are not interested in empowering the people, but hoping to win the Presidency to exercise the unlimited powers enshrined in the fraudulent constitution.  They are against constitutional reform and change. Their goal seems to be to capture the Presidency and execute the powers given in the constitution. This is a betrayal of the trust, confidence and faith granted them by voters two years ago. They are only interested in themselves, not the people.
I teach American government in the U.S and inform my students that in a democracy, power belongs to the people, not an executive. No politician should be trusted with power — they inevitably end up abusing it, as Burnham and Hoyte did.
When the American constitution was drafted, it was made clear that power resides in the people and the executive’s power should be limited so that the people will be more powerful than the government. In Guyana, Burnham crafted a constitution in which power belongs to the executive and the people are slaves of the executive. We need a Hamiltonian, Jeffersonian, Madisonian, Washingtonian democratic constitution in Guyana.
As these outstanding American founding fathers noted, there must be limits on the power of the executive because the executive cannot be trusted – the lessons of Burnham and Hoyte were instructive because they violated the trust of the people, persecuting the nation. We have had enough of power-hungry, status-seeking, greed-driven, self-promoting individuals who have been running our country for the last 48 years. It is time that the people take back their country from politicians who don’t care about them.  This can only be done through constitutional reform or reverting to the democratic constitution of the early 1960s when politicians respected the population.
The American founding fathers consistently maintained that the people are sovereign and should have almost all the powers. Guyana needs an executive that acts on the instructions of the people and whenever he or she fails to do so is voted out of office or impeached.  Guyana needs a separation of powers between the executive and the legislature if we are going to stick with a Presidential system; both should be elected separately with distinct roles in the government.
Separation of powers between the executive and legislature branches, as in the U.S, is fundamental for a functioning stable democracy, eliminating any chances of a leader becoming all too powerful. The Parliament should be a fierce watchdog over the cabinet, government and state enterprises to curtail (if not altogether prevent) corruption and other abuses that have been so common in Guyana right after independence. Politicians of all parties have shown they cannot be trusted with power.  They pursue policies and take actions that are self-serving; the people’s interests are not at heart. Self-enrichment takes precedence.
The two opposition parties should stop deluding themselves into thinking they will win the next general elections, believing they will exercise untrammeled power given the Presidency in the Burnham constitution. Elections are likely soon and regardless of who wins, no party should be allowed to continue to have the kinds of power enumerated in the fraudulent Burnham constitution. AFC has no chance of winning the Presidency.
The AFC and PNC (APNU) should urgently move on constitutional reforms, stripping the President of most powers and restoring them to the people – allow the people to run the government and let the politicians be at the mercy of the people, not the other way around as currently exists.
The AFC and APNU (PNC) need to move beyond bland statements of intent or vaporous rhetoric on stymieing PPP’s plans and saying they will amend the constitution when they come into office. Dr. Cheddi Jagan told me the same when he was in the opposition but the constitution was not altered under his Presidency – in all fairness, he did not violate the spirit or intent of the constitution and people’s rights were respected under his watch. But one can never be sure of what the future holds. That is why we need a constitution that limits the powers of the executive. The two opposition parties need to show political courage that has never been shown in this country, go all out with reforms and demand that powers be given to the people. The opposition must present a package of constitutional reforms that forces President Ramotar to sign it, giving absolute sovereignty to the people to determine their future.  Or alternatively, simply pass a motion abolishing the Burnham constitution and returning the country to the democratic independence constitution.
Vishnu Bisram

 

 

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