“Strive to make minority govts work rather than oppose it” – Dr Luncheon

By Svetlana Marshall

The Guyana Government on Wednesday said that a minority Government may be a permanent feature in the country and urged politicians and other stakeholders to strive to make it work rather than opposing it.

Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon’s comments came in the wake of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) announcing on Monday that it was seeking a national front alliance.

After several years, the PPP/Civic lost its majority to the combined Opposition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) at the 2011 elections. In the National Assembly, the party has found it very difficult to pass key legislation as a result.

Order of the day

Speaking at his weekly news conference, Dr Luncheon said minority Governments have become the order of the day in many countries across the globe. He opined that it could very well become a feature of Guyana’s political life.

“In essence, minority Governments seem to be here to stay and the emphasis, perhaps, need to be more on making minority Governments work as opposed to preventing minority Governments,” he told reporters at his Office of the President briefing.

Alluding specifically to the current political climate, Dr Luncheon said since the AFC submitted its No-Confidence Motion to the National Assembly against the Donald Ramotar Administration, political activities on the ground have surged.

“Attention to the constituency politics, attention to alliance politics will, and are occupying the minds of both the theorists and the practitioners of politics. In that context, the remnants of the Burnhamite Constitution are relevant, as that crafty politician in his constitution ensured that you could lose but you can still win,” he said.

Permanent feature

He said the formation of alliances has been a permanent feature of the electoral environment in Guyana, explaining that political parties, at one time or the other in a variety of ways, have addressed the notions of shared governance or a government of national unity.

“I think the public would be aware that one of the major calls for the government of national unity, the desire to have the most inclusive of governments all is deeply rooted in a sense that an alliance is ideally the way forward as opposed to the first-past-the post and the other forms of electoral system,” he said.

According to him, discourses on alliance policies are often awakened every time elections, whether general or local, are called and placed on the front burner. “In 2014, 2015, 2016, there should be no reason Guyanese should think that theorists and practitioners would approach this issue differently,” he said.