74 years since the formation of the People's Progressive Party

74 years since the formation of the People’s Progressive Party

Jan 03, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

January 1, 2023 marks 74 years since the formation of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The PPP was formed on January 1, 1950 and remained until this day the largest multi-racial political party in Guyana.

It speaks to the leadership acumen of the founding fathers of the PPP, especially Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his wife Janet that the Party they founded continue to be the dominant political party in Guyana, despite the several attempts made by reactionary forces to emasculate the party and keep it out of power.

The PPP was outsed from power in 1953, the first to be held under universal adult suffrage. It scored a massive victory winning 18 out of 24 seats. After a mere six months in office, the constitution was suspended and the PPP removed from office.

Following the suspension of the constitution, attempts were made to split the party. The PPP was split in 1955 after Forbes Burnham, a former founder-member unsuccessfully attempted to take over the leadership of the party. He then formed the People’s National Congress (PNC) in 1957 after his break-away PPP (Burnham) failed to make any significant electoral impact in the 1957 elections. The PPP (Jagan) won 9 of the 14 seats with PPP (Burnham) winning 3 seats.

It is a historical fact that the PPP was engineered out of office in the 1964 elections after the British Government imposed a system of proportional representation as opposed to the conventional constitency method which had characterized all elections prior to 1964. The result was a PNC-UF coalition government which lasted for just three years until the UF was booted out of the coalition government on the eve of the 1968 elections.

But it was the destruction of the democratic fabric of the society under Burnham’s dictatorial rule that resulted in prolonged economic and social decline for almost the entire period of PNC authoritarian rule. During that period, Guyana was reduced from one of the more prosperous country in the Anglo-phone Caribbean to the poorest in the western hemisphere.

It was not until the restoration of democratic rule on October 5, 1992 after some twenty-eight years of PNC dictatorial rule that the economic fortunes of Guyana changed. Under the slogan of ‘Time for Change: Time to rebuild, the PPP/C under the leadership of Dr. Jagan began a process of people-centered development or what became known as ‘ development with a human face’. This approach to development continued under successive PPP/C administrations. During this period the economic and social landscape of the country has changed markedly to a point where the economy is now ranked among the fasted growing in the world. Congratulations are in order for the leadership and membership of the party on the occasion of its 74th anniversary!

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