Democracy thrives on dissent and plurality

Jan 04, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News- Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at an event commemorating the death anniversary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan in March last year, sent a warning to political challengers. His words need repeating now as we approach the 2025 polls.

He said then, “You got all kinds, some who are trying to challenge us but they better be cautious. They got to come right. It’s a free country politically, but they may have interpreted our being quiet as a sign of weakness. It’s not so. When the right time comes, we deal with them,” he declared.”

These words have a chilling echo of Burnham’s famous declaration in 1980 that his party’s steel was sharper. We know how that turned out.

What Jagdeo meant by “deal with them” remains undefined. But the history of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) offers an unsettling context. Figures like Ravi Dev, Paul Tennassee, Balram Singh Rai, and C.N. Sharma bear witness to the party’s penchant for hounding rivals who dare trespass in PPP strongholds or challenge its support base.

At last Thursday’s PPP press conference, Jagdeo amplified his hostile stance, warning, “I do not intend to be soft on those who believe that they have a monopoly on criticizing the People’s Progressive Party and on distorting its track record.”

Such statements, cloaked as resolve, betray an underlying insecurity—a fear of losing the PPPC’s precarious one-seat majority. This fear can end up manifesting itself in threats against political contestants and critics, casting a shadow over Guyana’s democratic fabric.

Jagdeo’s rhetoric about his party’s political rivals cannot be divorced from the broader concerns surrounding his government’s potential use of state advertisements as a weapon against dissenting media houses. By weaponizing state advertisements, the PPPC can manipulate free expression, ensuring that only media houses favourable to the administration thrive while others struggle to survive. How can elections held under such circumstances, that limit the opportunities for opposition parties to get their message across, be said to be free and fair?

True democracy thrives on the robust exchange of ideas, the open contest of political philosophies, and the critical scrutiny of those in power. Democracy, at its core, invites scrutiny, thrives on dissent, and flourishes through political plurality.

Jagdeo’s rhetoric—his promise to “deal with” opponents and his refusal to be “soft” on critics—rings alarm bells for the forthcoming 2025 elections. Such declarations, especially from a leader with access to state power, signal not confidence but apprehension. They suggest a strategy less about engaging in the arena of ideas and more about going after those who might challenge the ruling party’s dominance.

The British High Commissioner to Guyana, in October, underscored the United Kingdom’s readiness to support free and fair elections in Guyana. Yet she should be aware that the essence of free and fair elections lies in the ease with which new parties and candidates can enter the political contest.

One cannot overlook the parallels with Venezuela, where political repression—limitations on parties and candidates—has drawn international sanctions. Guyana must tread carefully to avoid a similar trajectory. Jagdeo’s words provide little reassurance of this.

When a leader’s language becomes a cudgel, it erodes trust in democratic processes. Jagdeo’s warning against those who “distort” the PPPC’s record suggests an aversion to criticism, an essential component of governance. To govern is to invite challenge, to withstand the glare of public scrutiny, and to embrace the competing visions. Political rivals, however inconvenient, are not adversaries to be “dealt with” but necessary participants in the democratic project.

Democracy is not about safeguarding power; it is about ensuring that power remains accountable. The PPPC’s legacy should not be one of closing ranks against opposition but of fostering an environment where every voice, no matter how discordant, finds a platform.

Jagdeo’s weekly diatribes against rivals betray a fear that undermines the very ethos of democracy. The true test of leadership lies in addressing the concerns of critics with substance.

A democracy worth its name does not shy away from criticism; it courts it.  The freeness and fairness of elections are not measured solely by the absence of fraud but by the inclusivity of the political process. Every barrier to entry for new parties, every veiled threat against critics, chips away at the integrity of elections.

Jagdeo’s warnings therefore cast a long shadow over the 2025 elections.  His rhetoric—of dealing with critics and challengers—raises fundamental questions about the PPPC’s commitment to democratic principles. In a nation where political plurality should be celebrated, such language reeks of a certain kind of overreach. The British High Commissioner to Guyana should take note of these developments.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper.)

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• Democracy thrives on dissent and plurality, international sanctions, Paul Tennassee, People’s Progressive Party Civic

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