OUR DEMOCRACY NOT WORKING THE WAY IT SHOULD

Jul 09, 2018 Editorial

It is true that democracy is one of those concepts that mean different things to different people. In the United States, democracy means government of, by and for the people, a phrase coined by President Abraham Lincoln. In many countries, including Guyana, democracy is linked to free and fair elections.
For others, democracy implies a certain openness and rectitude by the governing elite. There are mature and immature democratic nations. The United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany etc. are considered mature democracies whereas, most of the under-developed countries are painstakingly viewed as immature democracies.
In 1992 when the PPP led by the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan rolled into power after being in opposition for 28 years, many in and out of the party bellowed that democracy has finally returned to Guyana. A lot of hype and celebration took place across the country to celebrate the return to democracy.
At the time, many in the PPP had accused the PNC government of Forbes Burnham of rigging elections, which they claim was undemocratic. But elections, whether fair or free constitute only one aspect of democracy, and by itself, is no guarantee for the creation of a democratic society or in which the average poor citizen would receive justice no different from the rich and powerful.
Democracy has a much broader concept. It is literally rule by the people which is sometimes referred to as rule of the majority. It is part of a system for choosing and replacing a government through free and fair elections. Democracy is a system of government with three basic elements, direct democracy, representative democracy and constitutional democracy in which the citizens of a country exercise power by voting.
In a direct democracy, the citizens form a governing body to vote directly on each issue and to solve problems. In a representative democracy, the citizens elect representatives from among themselves to represent them in a legislature such as Parliament or the House of Representatives in the United States. In a constitutional democracy, the powers of the majority are exercised through elected officials, but the constitution limits the majority and protects the minority in such areas as freedom of speech, freedom of association and the right to a fair trial in a court of law, among others. In general, democracy is a means for the people to choose their leaders and to hold them accountable for their policies and their conduct in office.
That said, in a healthy democracy, elections should be a cause for celebration, an occasion to mark the success and victory of one party over the others. It is a struggle to win the hearts of the voters. In Guyana, it is sad to say that elections are not a cause for celebration but a cause for fear, reprisals and increased tension and incivility among the citizens.
It is not a time when democracy is celebrated but a time when it is severely tested. We are two years from an election and already, people are worried about or are concerned about the sharpening of tensions between as well as suspicious by some in the opposition that rigging in some form is being contemplated by the government. It is terrible for the nation to feed on such fears. It is like placing a dagger at its heart.
Racial voting, partisan politics and the winner take all constitutional system in Guyana provide a serious challenge for democracy to flourish in the country. The winner take all system by itself cannot produce a real and genuine democracy.
The true test of a real democracy is a form of government in which political power is shared and truly reside in the people and exercised by them through their representatives is such time honored institutions as the Parliament and the Judiciary. The operation of these institutions long after an election do not function properly as needed for the democracy in the country, which suggests that our democracy is not working the way it should.

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