Guyana
is a sovereign Republic within the Commonwealth. The country
became independent on May 26, 1966 and it advanced to Republican
status on February 23, 1970.
Before independence the country
had several systems of government.
Self
Government
British
Guiana, as the country was formerly called, gained self-
governing status in 1961. The Head of Government at that
time was known as Premier, a position then held by Dr. Cheddi
Jagan. He was assisted in the administration of the country
by a Cabinet of Ministers which had authority only over
internal matters, the British Government retaining
the portfolios of Foreign Affairs, Defence, etc.
The colonial power, Britain,
was represented in the colony by a Governor, who held veto
powers over the work of the elected Legislature.
There was a bi-cameral House
of Assembly, with a lower house called the Legislative Council
and an upper house called the Senate.
The Legislative Council consisted
of 35 members elected under the system of First Past the
Post. The Senate consisted of a majority of members from
the Government, plus representatives from the Opposition
as well as two nominated members chosen by the Governor
after consultations with various groups.
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System
of Proportional Representation
In
1964 the electoral system was changed to Proportional Representation.
There were now 53 members in a uni-cameral House, the Senate
having been abolished. However, for logistical reasons the
35 previous constituencies were retained but were now termed
electoral districts. The first elections held under the
new system produced the following results: People’s
Progressive Party (PPP)-25 seats, People’s National Congress
(PNC)- 22 seats and the United Force (UF) –6 seats.
No party emerged with a clear
majority at these elections and so a coalition government
between the PNC and the UF was eventually formed. The PNC
leader, Mr. Forbes Burnham became the Premier and the UF
leader, Mr. Peter D’Aguiar became the Deputy Premier and
Finance Minister
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Independence
It was this Government that
led British Guiana to Independence under the new name of
Guyana. Mr. Burnham then became the Prime Minister and the
previous Governor was called the Governor General. The first
Guyanese Governor General was Sir David Rose, who was tragically
killed in an accident in London.
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Republican
Status
As soon as the constitutionally
stipulated period was up, the Government opted for
Republican status. Under this constitution the titular Head
of State became the President while the Prime Minister continued
to be the leader of the Government. The uni-cameral Legislature
of 53 elected members was retained .The first President
of Guyana was Mr. Arthur Chung, a former High Court Judge.
The People’s New Constitution
In 1980 the Independence and
Republican constitutions were replaced by another ,which
coincided with the elections of that year. The following
were some of the chief features of the new constitution:
(a) The country now had an
Executive President, i.e. the President was both Head of
State and Head of Government. Under this constitution the
President had excessive powers, such as immunity from prosecution
for any act done during his term in office, the power to
dismiss the Parliament, overturning decisions of the Courts,
the power to postpone elections indefinitely, etc. However,
the President was not a member of the National Assembly
although he had the power to address the Assembly at his
discretion.
(b) The affairs of the Government
in the National Assembly were now administered by a Prime
Minister, who was appointed by the President and who was
the first Vice-President ; actually there were five Vice-Presidents
in all, in addition to five Deputy Prime Ministers.
(c) The former Leader of the
Opposition was now called the Minority Leader;
(d) The country was now divided
into 10 administrative regions headed by a Chairman. Each
region now had an elected Regional Democratic Council, with
each region sending one representative to Parliament.
(e) A National Congress of
Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO), comprising representatives
from all local government bodies in the country, was convened
and this constitutional body was mandated to send two representatives
to Parliament;
(f) The National Assembly (Parliament)
now had 65 members in all, i.e. 53 directly elected
members , 10 members from the regional councils and 2 members
from the NCLDO .
(g) The Parliament now had
the power to amend the constitution by a simple two thirds
majority, and without the need for a concomitant referendum.
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First free and fair elections
after Guyana became independent
This constitution, called the
People’s New Constitution, lasted until 2001 when it was
amended. By that time, however, the People’s Progressive
Party (PPP) had assumed the reigns of government with successive
victories at the 1992 and 1997 elections. The elections
of 1992 were the first free and fair elections in an independent
Guyana. It was the first change of government after independence,
since the former government of the People’s National Congress
(PNC) had ruled the country for 28 unbroken years.
During that time the country’s
first executive President, Mr. Burnham, had died in 1985
and he was succeeded by Mr. Hugh Desmond Hoyte who ruled
the country for seven years until 1992.
In 1992 the PPP, led by the
veteran political leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, won the elections
with a comfortable majority of almost 54 per cent of the
votes. The results were as follows: PPP/C-34 seats; PNC-
27 seats; the Working People’s Alliance (WPA)-2 seats; and
The United Force ( TUF)- 2 seats.
By the time elections were
due in 1997, Dr. Jagan had died (earlier that same year).
Mr. Sam Hinds, who was the Prime Minister, was appointed
as President to replace Dr. Jagan.For the 1997 election
the PPP appointed Dr. Jagan’s wife, Janet, to lead
the Party that year. The PNC was again led by Mr.
Hoyte.
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The
1997 Elections
The results of the 1997 elections
were as follows: the PPP/C- 35 seats, with about 55 per
cent of the popular votes, PNC- 27 seats, WPA-2 seats and
TUF- 1 seat. Mrs. Janet Jagan was, thus, sworn in
as the President with Mr. Hinds again being Prime Minister.
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Bharrat
Jagdeo becomes President
In August 1998 President Janet
Jagan took in ill and the young Finance Minister, Mr. Bharrat
Jagdeo, was sworn in as the new President.
After the PNC-organised disturbances
which accompanied the 1997 elections, the term of office
of the PPP was reduced by two years, thus making elections
due by early 2001. These were held on March 19, 2001 under
a new constitution. This was one of the demands of the PNC
after the 1997 elections and it was duly implemented.
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Constitutional
Reform
A special Constitutional Reform
Constitution (CRC) comprising representatives of all parties
in Parliament was formed to undertake the process of constitutional
reform. The recommendations of the CRC were implemented
immediately after the 2001 elections. Some features of the
new Constitution are as follows:
(a) The Parliament remains
a uni-cameral Legislature;
(b) There are now 65 elected
members of Parliament, with a possible extra member,i.e.
66 members, should a special situation arise;
(c) Forty members are directly
elected under a system of PR at the national level, with
a further 25 members elected at the regional level, with
the various regions having a different number of representatives
according to their population;
(d) The National Congress of
Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO) has been abolished;
(e) The Leader of Government
business in Parliament is the Prime Minister; the President
still is not a member of Parliament.
(f) The government is elected
for a five-year term;
(g) The Prime Minister is the
first Vice- President and he becomes Acting- President whenever
the President is abroad;
(h) All the excessive powers
of the President have been abolished.
The results of the March 19
elections are as follows:
PPP-34 seats; PNC- 27 seats;
WPA-2 seats; TUF- 1 seats; and ROAR-1 seat.
Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo has been
elected and duly sworn in as President of the Republic of
Guyana with Mr. Sam Hinds, the Prime Minister.
Mr. Desmond Hoyte remains Opposition
Leader. For the first time ROAR has a member in Parliament,
in the person of Mr. Ravi Dev.
More PNC Violence
Despite the length to which
the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) went to ensure that
the results of the election would be acceptable to all parties
and citizens, the PNC sill refused to accept the results
of the elections. That party launched , by now its predictable
violent post-elections violence, this time not only in Georgetown
but also along the East Coast Demerara , where supporters
of that party launched a violent campaign of shooting, bombings,
arson, beatings, robbery, road blockages, confrontation
with the police and murder. The cost to supporters of the
governing party was huge and there was terrible agony and
grief brought about by the supporters of the PNC.
It was due to the wise leadership
of President Jagdeo that a tragedy was averted in this country.
At great personal risk the President toured the grief-striken,
villages on the East Coast and due to his comfort, reassurance
and kind words, the violence eventually subsided and peace
was restored to that part of the country.
The National Assembly has been
convened and Mr. Ralph Ramkarran has been elected as Speaker
with Ms. Clarissa Rheil as Deputy Speaker.
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