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Democracy is only won by people power

Nov 20, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
I was waiting a few days before getting involved in the prorogation discussion. I don’t have a horse in the race or a dog in the fight. I am not a member of any of the political parties, which gives me the opportunity to swing at both sides of the House when I care to. But I live here, and as they say, who feels it knows it. Whatever trauma the Guyanese people are feeling, so am I.
Is it not like the PPP to introduce a new word to the Guyanese lexicon. “Prorogation.” What does it mean? Well in local parlance it means that the Government has sent the people’s representative on sabbatical and closed the people’s House. This move by the President was to kill two birds with one signing.
First; he successfully emasculated parliament by the prorogation. This pre-empted the no-confidence motion that was being brought against the Government by the combined majority opposition from being debated. Secondly: he was able to buy Nandlall some respite from the headlights glare, for now at least.
This prorogation was one of the options that the Government could use. It’s lawful, but spineless. It does not matter how the President and his henchmen frame it; it’s all about usurping powers through the back door. Their words might have been a little wishy-washy, but their actions show it all to the majority opposition, ‘we will disenfranchise your supporters, until you do as we instruct’.
Prorogation is nothing new, it has been around for quite a while (no Burnham did not write the law). Queen Elizabeth I prorogued parliament quite often in the sixteenth century. In the 18th century King George III did so because Britain was threatened by invasion from France. So did Jean Chrétien – the liberal Prime Minister of Canada – who prorogued parliament four times between 1993 and 2003. Also Stephen Harper, another Prime Minister of Canada.
However, even though it is known that prorogation of the legislature is a boon to governments facing problems, there are rules that must be observed during this period. When Parliament is prorogued, all pending legislation lapse. Any un-passed bills or motions will be non-existent. All legislation that did not get the President’s signature is dead. But are we to understand that the executive will be taking over the portfolio of the legislature? Therefore, the rules notwithstanding, it could be business as usual, with the government working without the oversight of the opposition. If that is the case, what could prevent the President from proroguing the legislature indefinitely?
Let it be pellucid, there is nothing that the politicians in the combined opposition can do to turn this around. They can have all the meetings they want with whomever they want, it can change nothing. Besides being informed, the international community can do nothing towards making the government re-convene parliament. Nothing.
A lot of people, including politicians, like to talk about democracy, but they never explain what democracy is. Now we will get the opportunity to see how democracy (the people’s tool and rights) works in the Republic of Guyana. Democracy is not something that is given to the people; no, they have to fight for it.
Democracy allows you the privilege to be on the frontline every day, venting your feelings in defence of those same elements.  Democracy comes out of the stick-to-itiveness (to see it to the bitter end) of the people. And last of all, democracy is compromise in disguise. For in the final analysis, democracy whether with a capital D or common d, is only won by people power. Dissent is the purest form of patriotism.
Milton Bruce

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