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70 years since the first election held under universal adult suffrage

Apr 25, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

This month, April 27 to be exact, marks 70 years since the victory of the PPP in the 1953 election, the first that was held under universal adult suffrage. The PPP, under the leadership of the charismatic Dr. Cheddi Jagan won a landslide victory, winning 18 out of the 24 seats. Because of the hard work done by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the forerunner to the PPP, in raising the political consciousness of the Guianese people, the turnout was high at 77.7%, which at that time was among the highest in the Caribbean.

The victory of the PPP lasted only six months. The constitution was suspended and an interim administration was installed by the British government which lasted four years until new elections were held in 1957. The PPP again won a landslide victory, winning 10 of the 14 seats.

It is an established fact that the British government suspended the Constitution out of fear that the PPP was ‘communistic’ and was pursuing policies that were too much to the left. Several pieces of legislation were enacted aimed at improving the working and living conditions of the working people, but it was the passage of the Labour Relations Bill that was the main reason for the suspension of the Constitution. The Bill, patterned after the Wagner Act in the United States, allowed for unions with majority support to be the recognized union. The Bill  touched ‘King Sugar’ by recognizing the Guyana Industrial and General Worker’s Union, now GAWU in favour of the Man Power Citizen’s Association (MPCA) which at the time was the recognized union but was generally perceived by sugar workers as a ‘company union’.

The suspension of the Constitution resulted in a number of manoeuvrings and political intrigues which ultimately resulted in the split of the PPP in 1955. Forbes Burnham who was chairman of the PPP at the time of the formation of the PPP in 1950, broke away from the PPP and formed his own PPP (Burnham). It was only after the 1957 election which was overwhelmingly won by the PPP (Jagan) that Burnhan teamed up with John Carter to form the People’s National Congress (PNC).

One unfortunate consequence of that split was that it shattered the nascent racial and working-class unity of the early 1950’s and set the stage for voting along ethnic lines. That did not prevent the PPP from winning elections in 1961 but it did forestall the granting of political independence to the colony after the PPP was ‘engineered out of office in 1964 in what former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson described as a ‘fiddled constitutional arrangement’ unknown in the British Commonwealth. The constitution was amended to allow for the introduction of Proportional Representation which allowed for a PNC-UF coalition government in 1964.

A lot of water, as it were, had passed under the bridge since then including the turbulent sixties, rigged elections by the PNC regime for close to three decades and the eventual restoration of democratic elections on October 5, 1992. Elections since then were largely free and fair and the economy has become much more diverse and resilient, thanks to our oil and gas resources.

The challenge is to find ways to return to the spirit of the early 1950’s when there were manifestations of racial and national unity. President Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ vision is a step in the right direction, which together with a people-oriented approach to development and the even-handed manner in the distribution of the resources of the state can result in a higher level of inclusivity and participatory democracy. Congratulations are in order to the membership and leadership of the PPP which remains until today the dominant political party and which continue to transform the economic and social landscape of Guyana in positive ways.

Regards,

Hydar Ally

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