SCRAP THE CURRENT CONSTITUTION REFORM PROCESS 

An advertisement last week for a secretary for the Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) has reminded the public that constitution reform is on the agenda. The CRC was appointed on 3 April 2024. Elections in Guyana are due on or before 2 November 2025. The delay so far does not suggest that the CRC will be in a position to commence its first […]

GUYANA – SHADES OF AUTOCRACY?

In an article published in SN on August 27 – “Whither Guyana: Autocracy or democracy?” Dr. Bertrand Ramcharan, a former senior UN official and regular contributor to SN, concludes that in Guyana there are “shades” of autocracy. The events that give rise to the “shades”  are: “official inquisitions into the tax status of NGOs; calls […]

POLITICS AND THE NATIONAL TOSHAOS’ CONFERENCE

The annual National Toshaos Conference took place during last week and was addressed by President Ali. In his address the President emphasised the contribution that his government has made to the development of Amerindian communities. He pointed to increased budget allocations, extensive distribution of land titles, direct allocation of increased earnings from carbon credit and […]

A REVIEW OF SHARED GOVERNANCE AND WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE

The phrases ‘shared’ governance’ and ‘winner-take-all’ were introduced into Guyana’s political lexicon in the mid 1970s by the ever-resourceful Cheddi Jagan. At that time the PNC had given itself a two-third majority of votes and seats in the National Assembly at the 1973 general elections. It placed the PPP on the backfoot by the nationalization […]

THE CASE FOR A NEW VOTERS’ LIST

The voters’ list is created by law. It is extracted from the national register when an order is made by the Elections Commission. The national register is created pursuant to the provisions of the National Registration Act and under the supervision of the Elections Commission. In the past, the national register was compiled by periodic, […]