From where I stand… Guyana is a Democracy Unevolved

Sep 07, 2025 News

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By Janelle Persaud

Kaieteur News – Yes, we hold elections. Yes, international observers frequently declare them “free and fair.” Part of the the issue is how narrowly we ourselves define democracy. For many, including the state, it seems, democracy begins and ends at the ballot. However, it is widely established that democracy is so much more. It is widely established that its essence rests on a set of cornerstones: free and fair elections, of course, but also equality before the law, separation of powers, independent institutions, respect for civil society and dissent, and systems of accountability strong enough to restrain power.

By that yardstick, Guyana has barely left its infancy.

Our modern democratic journey is often dated to 1992, when the Carter Centre’s intervention helped deliver elections that ended 28 years of authoritarian rule. That was a watershed moment. But three decades later, it is sobering to admit that “free and fair” elections remain the most – and perhaps only – democratic credential we can consistently claim.

And even that, by today’s measure, is not entirely or comprehensively achieved. The European Union’s Election Observation Mission to Guyana described the 2025 polls as “competitive and peaceful,” yet noted that incumbency carried undue advantage, media coverage was biased, and legal loopholes left space for dispute. The Carter Centre, which returned to observe this year’s process, echoed those concerns, pointing to weak campaign finance rules, misuse of state resources, and ongoing mistrust in GECOM.

So, even our proudest achievement is partial at best.

And this is not new. In 1992, when the Carter Centre helped Guyana stage its first credible election in decades, their reports outlined the work ahead: build an independent elections commission with professional capacity; pursue constitutional reform to soften our winner-takes-all politics; strengthen judicial independence; nurture civil society and protect press freedom. These were the foundations of an evolved democracy.

Three decades later, those foundations remain fragile or incomplete. GECOM remains highly partisan, professionally deficient and institutionally outmoded, constitutional reform is perennially deferred, civil society is comatose, and winner-takes-all has hardened into the only political grammar we know.

And speaking of Foreign observer mission, our seeming dependence on them to show up, file their reports, and confirm what is already plain is also part of our unevolved democracy.

This colonized reflex of needing the West to tell us what to do, how to do it, when to do it, keeps us stuck. It is as if without their validation we cannot trust our own voices, our own instincts, our own institutions. And maybe that’s part of the reason we have not evolved beyond “free and fair elections”: because we are still waiting for permission to grow.

The 2025 elections, held on September 1st, now sit in limbo. It is September 5th as I write, and GECOM has yet to officially declare the results. Instead, we rely on preliminary tallies, which suggest that the PPP will return with a clear majority, WIN has surged to become the main opposition in its very first election, and APNU has slipped further behind.

The delay itself is telling. In Jamaica, which voted just after us, results were known by nightfall. Here, nearly a week later, we remain in uncertainty. Every day that passes without an official declaration feeds the deep public distrust of GECOM.

Even the numbers we do have tell a troubling story. Turnout barely crossed the halfway mark, meaning nearly half the electorate stayed home. That is not the sign of a thriving democracy, but of one where people feel disenfranchised or powerless. Meanwhile, the PPP’s “historic” lead in Region 4 should be interpreted as nothing more than fragmentation within the opposition: APNU’s collapse, combined with WIN’s rise, split the vote in ways that cleared the path.

You’d think this  looks like stability; a ruling party consolidating its mandate. In truth, it is the logic of a system that rewards division, discourages consensus, and disguises fragility as strength. That my friends is democracy stuck.

When the new government takes office, the temptation will be to treat this result as a blank cheque. It is not. A majority should never mean license to rule without listening. If Guyana is ever to move beyond this unevolved democracy, certain steps are unavoidable.

First, constitutional and electoral reform can no longer be a talking point reserved for opposition years. Every party, once in government, has found the winner-takes-all system too convenient to change. That is precisely why it must change. Our democracy will not mature until representation is broadened and cooperation is built into the system.

Second, institutions must be strengthened. GECOM should not be a perpetual source of suspicion. Campaign finance cannot remain a free-for-all. Our courts must be resourced to deliver justice quickly and fairly.

Third, civil society must be revived. Governments respond best when citizens organise, when business, churches, unions, and NGOs refuse to stay silent. If there is one lesson to carry from this election, it is that people still have power but only if they use it beyond the ballot.

Finally, political leadership itself must grow up. The language of polarization and division has served too many too well. But it is possible to choose maturity. To build consensus. To govern not only for one’s supporters, but for the whole country. That is what a democracy evolved would look like.

Guyana deserves that. We deserve leaders who compromise and build consensus, who govern with fairness, who strengthen institutions rather than weaken them. The elections of September 1st did not get us there but they certainly reminded us why we must keep pushing.

From where I stand, the work of our democracy does not end at the ballot box. It continues with us.

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• Democracy, Elections, international observers, Janelle Persaud, Unevolved

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