From Where I stand… Majority Power Is Not a Trophy!

Aug 31, 2025 News

Janelle Persaud

By Janelle Persaud

Kaieteur News – I generally don’t like the idea of a minority government in Guyana. It makes me uneasy because of an inherent risk to stall ‘progress’. And with so much at stake in Guyana’s development trajectory, one could argue we cannot afford gridlock.

Nonetheless, as a friend articulated recently, “it might be necessary.” Imagine reaching a point where, despite fears of stalled development, a Guyanese invested in the nation’s wellbeing believes a minority government is necessary.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” British historian Lord Acton coined that warning in an 1887 letter, arguing that unchecked power erodes moral restraint. Guyana’s institutional design makes that warning painfully relevant: 65 seats, 33 for a majority; the party with the most seats also captures the presidency, so 51% of seats can translate into near-total control. In 2011, the PPP/C governed in a minority (32 seats vs. a combined opposition 33); in 2015 APNU+AFC won by one seat (33–32); in 2020, the PPP/C returned with 33. These razor-thin outcomes deliver absolute outcomes.

Inside Parliament, majority power has too often been used as a bulldozer. The Natural Resource Fund bill was pushed through during a tumultuous late-night sitting in December 2021. And this isn’t unique to the PPP. Under the APNU-AFC majority, we watched the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill (2017) and the Cybercrime Bill (2018) pushed through on party-line votes despite broad objections, and the SARA law forced through after debate was cut short.

But power doesn’t live only in the chamber. It travels through boards, councils, state-owned media, procurement committees, and venue managers. Consider cultural and other state spaces where access to public venues can become a soft tool of control: just recently, a new political movement alleged it was denied access to two state-linked facilities for a rally, which stood as another reminder that gatekeeping power often operates offstage.

In my own inbox, people message in agreement yet beg anonymity in fear of retribution. That, too, is how power works: by discouraging speech before it is ever spoken. In Lethem, residents in two long-neglected streets in the “Ghetto” will tell you their road wasn’t done because of how they vote. I’m not saying there’s a central memo directing this; it’s worse: localised arbitrariness of agents empowered, implicitly or explicitly, to reward friends and punish critics. That is how a culture of impunity spreads.

This is why some political scientists argue that minority governments, despite their messiness, create forced consensus. Without the cushion of a majority, governing parties must actually negotiate, listen, and compromise. In Scandinavia, where minority governments are common, this has often led to more durable and inclusive policy outcomes. Guyana is no Sweden, but the principle still applies: perhaps the only way to teach our leaders humility is to deny them absolute control.

It really doesn’t matter how likable President Irfaan Ali may be as an individual; from where I stand, the PPP does not deserve another majority government because it has repeatedly abused that power. When a government uses its power to silence dissent, governs for the benefit of its friends, weaponizes institutions against its own people, and allows corruption to flourish boldly and without shame, it violates the trust placed in it. The form this takes is not always dramatic; often it is banal: meeting agendas, board votes, venue approvals, procurement “preferences.” Hannah Arendt called it the banality of evil, the safely bureaucratic yet destructive acts by which societies quietly betray their values.

Guyana belongs to ALL Guyanese. Those in office are stewards of public resources; they do not own them. Citizen votes are not gifts to be repaid to party loyalists, and public goods are not trophies to be dispensed to the faithful. Majority power is not a trophy to flaunt before political opponents; it is a responsibility. And no party should be entrusted with it unless and until it proves it can wield that power responsibly and transparently for everyone.

Sometimes, a forced dose of humility and yes, even a minority government may be exactly what is needed to remind those who govern that power is on loan from the people and it can be taken back.

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APNU+AFC, Guyana, Janelle Persaud, Nonetheless, President Irfaan Ali, the PPP/C

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