SHARED GOVERNANCE
Conversation Tree Blog – January 12, 2019 – by Ralph Ramkarran
In a lengthy article written in 2011 before the general elections of that year, for “Freedom House” on “Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Guyana,” Assistant Professor Joan Mars, of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice of the University of Michigan-Flint, said: “Elections are constitutionally due to be held in 2011.
Calls by the political opposition for shared governance have not been endorsed by the ruling PPP/C administration headed by President Jagdeo; with its consistent absolute majority in parliament, the PPP/C has had little incentive to agree to share power, but the idea may be gathering momentum as a major rallying point in the forthcoming elections.“ Assistant Professor Mars, a former practising lawyer in Guyana, concluded: “The current system of majority rule should be reformed to provide for a power-sharing model that is representative of the ethnic diversity in the population. Continue reading
Guyana: The Government’s Fall Was Always A Distinct Possibility – by Ralph Ramkarran
Ralph Ramkarran
Posted on December 22, 2018 – by Ralph Ramkarran – Conversation Tree Blog
What transpired in the National Assembly on Friday evening was always a distinct possibility, with the Government’s one seat majority. Election results mean something. In 2011, the electorate told the PPP/C that it wants that party to join in a coalition to manage the affairs of the nation. The PPP/C ignored the message. The electorate removed it from office in 2015. Then it proceeded to give the APNU+AFC coalition a mere one seat majority.
This conveyed another message – that the APNU+AFC coalition government should proceed cautiously and engage with the Opposition. Continue reading →
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