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The source of the confusion

Feb 08, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The parliamentary representatives of the APNU+AFC do not represent half of the country. Neither do the parliamentary representatives of the PPP/C represent the other half.
These representatives represent all of Guyana. One side may be the Opposition and the other side may form part of the government side of the House but they are not representatives of segments of the population. Having been elected, they are obligated to represent all Guyanese – those who voted for them and those who did not.
The suggestion, therefore, that the failure during the recent debates of the government to accommodate representations of the APNU+AFC amounts to a rejection of half of the population, is miscomprehension and misrepresentation of the nature of representative democracy.
A representative system of democracy is what it says it is – a system of representation. Since it is unwieldy for citizens to decide on every question concerning governance, citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf – to make decisions for the good of the commons.
Representative democracy is the embodiment of what is known today as popular sovereignty. It is mediated through institutions, particularly through government and the legislature.
When either a party or coalition is elected to parliament, that party or coalition does not represent only those who cast ballots in its favour. It is supposed to represent the interests of the entire electorate. Similarly when a government is elected to office, it has to act in consideration of the interests of all sections of the society and not confine its actions to only the interests of those who voted for it.
There is a difference between election and governance, in so far as elections in Guyana are concerned. When a person casts his or her ballot that person is making a choice as to whom he or she wishes to govern the country. But those chosen to govern do not govern for only those who vote for them; the government is a government by the people and for all of the people.
When an election is ended, the government is a government of all of the people. And the Opposition is supposed to be an Opposition also for all of the people. To better understand this it is best to note the distinction between what Pitkin notes is the difference between “standing” for and “acting” for. While, therefore, the Opposition may ‘stand’ for the APNU+AFC, it must ‘act’ on behalf of all.
Under Guyana’s electoral system, there are 25 geographic representatives. But this does not mean that an APNU+AFC supporter in any geographic region cannot ask a PPP/C geographic representative to represent his or her interests. The APNU+AFC are expected to voice the concerns of both their supporters as well as that of the supporters of the PPP/C.
The role of the Opposition in the National Assembly is to act as a counterpoint to government. The Opposition can either support or be critical of government policies – the latter being the most obvious. But it is also expected to offer alternative policies to the government. The role of the Opposition, regardless of whether or not the government subscribes to their views, is by no means peripheral. As has been said before, “the opposition’s role is to oppose the government, to criticise it and to seek to replace it.”
If the government ignores the pleadings of the Opposition during the debates in the National Assembly, the Opposition’s presentations do not amount to exercise in futility. The pleadings will become part of the public record; the people will listen and judge sense from nonsense. The people will have another chance – barring rigged elections – to determine whether the Opposition should succeed the ruling party or parties in government.
The confusion comes when those who are in Opposition are not interested in contributing to governance through their scrutiny of government and their offering of alternative suggestions. Instead many are more interested in ruling; they want to be in the seat of government and not on the Opposition benches and the obsession with ruling leads them to view the adversarial system of representative democracy as an exercise in futility.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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