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The ‘winner takes it all’ approach to governance is the root cause of our underdevelopment
DEAR EDITOR,
There is a positive correlation between democracy and development. This is true for Guyana as it is for any other country in the world. The records would show that the best years the country enjoyed were during the post-1992 period and, for a limited time, the 1957-1964 period, even though the country was at the time under British colonial rule.
This is why it is so important to ensure that our democracy is not only preserved, but further consolidated and deepened. This is all the more necessary as we prepare for one of the most transformative events in our history, namely the discovery of oil. A democratic, united and stable Guyana is an important prerequisite for the optimisation of our oil resources estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
No democracy is perfect. However, despite its imperfections, any departure from democratic norms and values is by far worse and could be disastrous.
Democracy in ethnically diverse societies such as ours is particularly challenging and requires some measure of constitutional engineering to ensure that all Guyanese, regardless of race or political preferences, do not feel marginalised and alienated from the process of national development.
The task of any government in a democracy is to ensure that there is participatory and inclusive governance. This can only become a reality in an environment where the political preferences of all Guyanese are accommodated in the governance structure.
In a true democracy, no segment of the voting population should be fearful of political victimization because of the electoral choices they make. This regrettably is not the case in Guyana, which is why the political stakes are so high. It is the zero-sum or ‘all or nothing’ mentality that makes electoral outcomes so intensely intimidatory. For many, it is tantamount to a life or death situation.
I remain convinced that the ‘winner takes it all’ approach to governance is the root cause of our underdevelopment and should be replaced by a new governance paradigm in which the principle of governance for the good of all should be the bedrock on which our governance structure rests.
Hydar Ally
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