The month of March is very significant for the People's Progressive Party

The month of March is very significant for the People’s Progressive Party

Mar 06, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

The month of March is very significant for the People’s Progressive Party. It was on March 22, 1918 that Dr. Cheddi Jagan was born and he also passed away on March 6, 1997. As fate would have it, his wife Janet also passed away on March 28, 2009.
As we observe yet another birth and death anniversary of Dr. Jagan, it is important that we not only celebrate his life and works but also draw useful lessons from the struggles of this illustrious son of the soil, who together with his wife Janet, gave over a hundred years of dedicated and selfless service to the cause of a free and democratic Guyana.
One of the lessons to be learnt is that freedom and democracy do not come easy. It has to be fought for and won. In the early 1950’s it was the struggle for the right to vote, which prior to 1953, was only limited to the propertied class. It was only after robust representation made by the newly-formed PPP that the British Government agreed to a number of constitutional changes prior to the 1953 elections which included the granting of universal adult suffrage and the introduction of the ministerial system of governance. The PPP won a landslide victory in the 1953 elections gaining 18 out 24 seats.
That victory was short-lived due to a constitutional coup which overthrew the PPP from the seat of power after a mere 133 days in office. The reason advanced by the British Government for the suspension of the Constitution was that PPP was pursuing a ‘leftist’ agenda which was considered unacceptable and irresponsible at that time given the country’s location in what was perceived to be the US backyard.
The constitution was again manipulated by the British Government to remove the PPP from office in the 1964 elections even though the PPP won a plurality of the votes as it did in previous elections. The introduction of Proportional Representation in 1964 was a well-calculated ploy to prevent the PPP from winning.
The PNC teamed up with the United Force to form a coalition government which lasted until 1968 when the United Force was unceremoniously booted out from the coalition government, but not before the PNC took full control of the electoral machinery.
All elections since 1968 were blatantly rigged and Dr. Jagan and the PPP was kept in the political wilderness for almost three decades until democracy was finally restored to the country on October 5, 1992, thanks to the intervention of the United States and other western powers.
The country is once again facing an impending constitutional crisis. There is a fair measure of anxiety among Guyanese as to whether the days of rigged elections are once again rearing its ugly head and whether it will take another three decades before democratic rule becomes a reality.
Such fears are fuelled by the manner in which the Chairman of GECOM was appointed and how the Commission is treating with the issue of elections which are constitutionally due before March 19 following the successful passage of the no-confidence vote.
The words of the late Dr. Jagan seem once again to resonate among party supporters. ‘The struggle will be long and hard, but victory is inevitable.’

Hydar Ally

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