STILL TIME FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

President Granger’s address to the National Assembly completely omitted any reference to constitutional reform.  Since a budgetary provision was made, the Guyanese people were entitled to be told what legislative initiatives to expect from the Government.   

RACE AND POLITICS

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, issued an invitation to President Granger to debate race, in the context of which political party in government has done more for African Guyanese. The immediate issue was the rejection by the casting vote of the Chairman of the Elections Commission of Vishnu Persaud as Deputy Chief […]

THE ROOT OF THE EVIL

At the event marking the 100th Birth Anniversary of Cheddi Jagan sponsored by the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, former President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed fears that the general elections due in 2020 will be rigged. President Jagdeo cited the circumstances leading up to the appointment of the Chair of the Elections Commission, namely, President Granger’s rejection […]

THE MIDDLE CLASS – THE NEW DYNAMIC IN GUYANA’S POLITICS

The basis of Guyana’s political outcomes has remained static for many decades. With deeply entrenched ethnic voting patterns, Indian Guyanese, originally constituting close to 50 percent of the population, would always have the upper hand. The two elections in 1957 and 1961 demonstrated to the African Guyanese political leadership that if it wanted political power, […]

SUSTAINING AND ADVANCING DEMOCRACY FOR THE NEW YEAR

In the critical years of the 1970s and 1980s, three major issues engaged the attention of my political colleagues – restore democracy, advance social progress and avoid civil strife. We firmly believed that Guyana could make no progress unless full democracy through free and fair elections were restored. Our analysis was that it was the […]