In a previous editorial captioned, “The path to dictatorship,” this publication had described the three means by which a democratic country can be degraded into a tyrannical dictatorship. It was explained that one particular means or path to tyranny should be of particular concern to Guyanese. In fact, that specific path was taken by neighbouring Venezuela, among other countries. That pathway is: the election of an outwardly, seemingly democratic and normal party into government office, however, secretly, at that party’s central core, is an autocratic dictator who intends to discard the democratic appearance, and institute tyrannical rule once that party is installed into power by any means that the dictator can engineer. The editorial elaborated on how such a regime could be recognised or identified, and suggested that if a country’s citizens value the freedoms that true democratic governance provides, those citizens must — if such a situation is observed — remove that government from office. It is thought that such a situation may exist in Guyana; if so, what can Guyanese do to arrest the attack against our fragile democracy?
The previous editorial quoted the internationally recognised political scientist Arch Puddington who wrote that: “Central to the modern authoritarian strategy is the capture of institutions that undergird political pluralism. The [dictatorial government’s] goal is to dominate not only the executive and legislative branches, but also the media, the judiciary, civil society, the commanding heights of the economy, and the security forces. With these institutions under the effective if not absolute control of a dictatorial leader, changes in government through fair and honest elections become all but impossible.” In other words, the government would seek to spread its cancerous tentacles into every sector of society, so as to exert control over every aspect of life, and set up conditions to prevent the dictator’s removal.
Another expert, former U.S Labor Secretary Professor Robert Reich explained how the government would create a dictatorship step by step. He said that the dictator would, “destroy labor unions, so people have no way to bargain for higher wages and less capacity for political organisation.” The professor said that the government would, “cut deals with rich business executives and billionaires,” while “filling the airwaves with big lies.” The expert said that once the government had control of everything, political opposition would become almost impossible.
Guyanese should know by now of the basic pillars upon which democratic governance is built. Those main pillars are: regular, free and fair elections; equality under the rule of law; and the Four Freedoms as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. The question is, how does Guyana measure up to those standards?
The current PPP administration — unlike the actions of the previous Coalition government — has openly and unashamedly stated that it will not hold local government elections in a timely manner. This, in open defiance of the lawful constitutional directive to so do. With regard to the issue of equality under the rule of law. For example, we know that competent and qualified workers have had their jobs taken away by the PPP administration simply because they reported or commented on factual information on their private social media pages.
As such, there can be little doubt that democratic norms are being systematically attacked by the PPP regime. Further, the evidence demonstrates that the PPP government — by such means as excluding Coalition supporters from the boards of directors of State agencies — is swiftly moving to consolidate power over every facet of life, and weaken and demoralise political opponents. The PPP regime is also attempting to take over the entire media space. Recalling the warnings of the experts, there can be little doubt that the PPP government has set the country on the path towards dictatorship.
Considering the known facts, all Guyanese should be extremely concerned; we must not allow our freedoms to be further eroded by any anti-democratic regime that intends to dismantle democracy. Citizens need to think very carefully about our future and that of our children. Guyanese need to realise that the people have the power to stop our country from going down the path that ends in tyranny, and citizens must take acton to do so before it is too late.
