In his article last Wednesday in Future Notes, (‘Some suggestions for constitutional reform’), Dr. Henry Jeffrey, advanced extensive views on constitutional reform. In order not to lose the momentum and opportunity of a discourse on the subject, I now seek to give some opinions of my own in the hope that they will add to the debate to find a workable and acceptable constitutional arrangement that will create a framework for at least both the major political parties to share the government. This is an outcome that both Dr. Jeffrey and I seek. It is an outcome that is necessitated by a constitution under which a party can ‘lose the elections and still win,’ or where minority governments can become a ‘feature’ of Guyana’s political future, as were approvingly conjectured by Dr. Luncheon in his press conference last week.
The existence of two large ethnic blocs which harbor historic suspicions and resentments about each other and which seek security in organizational form through political parties is the fundamental issue that has been at the core of all of Guyana’s civil and political turmoil and instability since 1955. The exacerbating consequences of colonial exploitation through slavery and indentureship and imperialist intervention have had their not insignificant impact. Until today’s politically disputatious situation, created by our history and overshadowed by ethnicity, is contained by a workable constitutional system, Guyana will show little political and economic progress and instability will continue.
