THE POLITICS OF ELECTIONS


AFC Vice Chair, Moses Nagamootoo, announced that his party was contemplating a motion of no confidence against the Government. The complaint then was that the Minister of Finance violated the law when he spent some $4 billion that was not approved by the National Assembly during the debate of the Estimates. Since then a list of demands has been made. APNU, whose support is necessary for the success of such a motion, later said that it would be discussing the matter and may support it.

The Government considered the statement to be a threat. One headline screamed “DO IT.” Another thundered, “I AM A WARRIOR.” It is doubtful that the President would have been speaking about physical combat, sumo wrestling style, with Moses Nagamootoo. But with his recent display of physical fitness, one can never be sure, especially since Moses would be at a distinct disadvantage, not having pictorially demonstrated any accomplishments in physical attributes similar to those of the President! President Ramotar’s testy reaction is surprising in view of the fact that clear hints have already been broadly given by him that new elections are on the agenda for consideration. This is the reason that local government elections are not being held.

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THE PNCR – ITS PAST AND FUTURE


Once again the issue of an apology from the PNCR has become topical. First raised with Opposition Leader David Granger while he was on a visit to the United States, it emerged again at a press conference in Guyana. Mr. Granger repeated a long established PNCR policy, designed to deflect public pressure, that there would be no blanket apology on the basis of hearsay or conjecture as if rigged elections fall in those categories. He called for all errors of the past to be investigated and said that other political parties needed to apologise as well.

Even though the PPP has made the most of the PNCR’s history during its ’28 years’ in office, as far as I am aware it has never formally called for an apology or given support to those who have done so. The PPP’s position just before the 1992 elections was captured in the slogan, ‘no recrimination, no discrimination.’ In practical terms that policy manifested itself in no inquiries or investigations being held in election rigging, corruption, Jonestown, police killings and torture and the other well-known consequences of authoritarian rule.

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QUID PRO QUO


The Peoples’ National Congress (‘PNC’) Government nationalised the Demerara Bauxite Company in 1971. At that time article 8 of the Constitution of Guyana provided for the payment of “reasonable” compensation. The Bauxite Nationalisation Act (‘Act’) of 1971 amended ‘reasonable’ to give constitutional validity to the nationalization.

At that time the PNC did not have a two-third majority in the National Assembly, which is required for legislation amending certain provisions of the Constitution. It therefore required the support of the Peoples’ Progressive Party (‘PPP’) to pass the Act. The PPP was a fervent supporter of the nationalisation of the ‘commanding heights’ of the economy based on strong, ‘patriotic,’ ideological convictions. Yet the PPP demanded in return a quid pro quo – an office for the Leader of the Opposition – to which the PNC Government acceded.

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SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE AND CORRUPTION IN THE POLICE FORCE


Violence and corruption in the police force can no longer be classified as allegations. They are real and are now an integral part of the culture of the Police Force and policing in Guyana. The sooner the authorities accept that these are chronic and systemic problems in the Police Force, the quicker there will be a serious attempt at a solution. No such attempt has yet taken place, even though modest efforts at ‘reforms’ have been made. But these have been attempted only reluctantly, after much public pressure and as an attempt to soothe public opinion. When public rage overflows, such as after the shootings in Middle Street, the public is offered the creation of a SWAT team. But the danger now exists that the Police Force will become so enmeshed and so entrenched in violence and corruption, that systems to protect these will take on a life of their own within progressively higher reaches of the Police Force.

Let us be clear. The vast majority of officers, and many of those lower down, are good, honest and dedicated policemen who are revolted by excesses. The Police Force still attracts cadets of quality who go on to become good policemen. But subsisting right alongside this quality is an established mindset, which violates the fundamental principles of policing and of morality.

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TAKING SILK


The first appointment of a Queen’s Counsel in England was that of Sir Francis Bacon, made by Queen Elizabeth 1 in 1594, for a political purpose. Following the tradition that developed since then, the institution is recognized in most of the Commonwealth countries. When lawyers speak of ‘taking silk,’ they are referring to the time of their preferment by elevation to Senior Counsel, formerly Queen’s Counsel. ‘Taking Silk’ refers to the fact that lawyers who are conferred with the honour wear a differently designed robe made of silk. They also speak of being admitted to the ‘inner bar.’ This refers to the second bar table in the well of the Court where, of lawyers, only Senior Counsel may sit.

There has been no shortage of controversy in the Commonwealth about the continuation of the institution or about its reform. Arguments and public discussions on these issues have been going for decades but, with reforms, the institution has been retained. In England appointments were suspended for several years because of concern about fairness. When they resumed in 1995, solicitors were appointed. In some countries academics are appointed. But one of the main areas of controversy is fairness and transparency, even though in developed countries partisan political considerations in appointments have been largely eliminated.

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