By Roysdale Forde S.C, M.P- As we wade through the maze of misinformation by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) we must not only ask questions but also question the answers. One of the popular narratives of the PPP/C regime is that it is all for democracy. We know that in Guyanese politics, democracy was once the hope, the shield, the collective breath of our nation rising from colonialism and struggle.
We also know that today, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) dictatorial government, democracy has been completely reduced to choreography—basically, a show of performance over principle, where staged press conferences, public meetings and election cycles mimic legitimacy while the people’s real cries echo in silence.
On the campaign trail and in the usual ramblings of the President, Vice President and other actors, at different public fora, the PPP/C speaks of prosperity. They point to oil revenues, foreign investments, infrastructure growth. They speak of consultations, transparency, representation. But if one were to look closer one would notice a wider plan of deception.
Scratch beneath the deceptive façade of progress, and you will find a disturbing truth: democracy has become a tool of emotional management, not social and political empowerment. It soothes your outrage, not channels your voice. It does not represent you; it works for the political power class and those who are connected to that power structure in this country.
But those who are benefiting from their association with the political power of this country will soon realise that in a real sense individual prosperity is particularly curtailed in the presence of injustice, greed, discrimination and social imbalance.
That things are going very well for individuals personally is of little societal value if friends, neighbours and whole communities are in dire straits. The prosperity of individuals and those around them are intertwined. Sometimes inextricably.
Those individuals, of the contractor class, who have an advantage because of their affiliation or/and association with the PPP/C who are handed contracts for many millions to do works, in poverty-stricken communities, whose residents remain in abject poverty, might appear to be doing well now.
However, there is a deep sense that they are as poor as those who because of their distance from power, are cheated out of much needed help and support. This is both a moral and a practical argument that reflect the state of play on the stage of performance substituted for real democracy by the PPP/C regime.
Elections, once the beating heart of a functioning democracy, have become nothing more than ritualistic performances for a dysfunctional process. Every five years, Guyanese citizens are handed the script, expected to play their role: campaign, vote, and then return to the sidelines while power consolidates behind closed doors. The PPP/C leverages its incumbency to control narrative and the nation’s resources, ensuring the status quo remains comfortably intact. What results is not a competitive democracy, but an autocracy with democratic drapery.
Again, ask yourself: when was the last time you felt truly represented? When was the last time your Member of Parliament spoke for you?
Even public consultations and meetings are symbolic. Ever so often, the PPP/C actors spend millions of dollars, to visit different communities to hear about complaints and problems of the ordinary working- class people- fisher folks, farmers, small shop- keepers. The funny thing about it is that those complaints and problems are well known to everyone, including those very political actors, who visit to hear them again and again.
Yet, after days and weeks of long winded- meetings very little gets done, by government operatives, to resolve the issues affecting local communities and the residents. Those meetings are being held to score cheap political points, make- believe, represent the interests of party members as against those who really need support, and spend taxpayers’ money that, in fact, could have been used to improve the lives of our people.
More, dissenting voices are dismissed as politically motivated or “troublemakers.” Meanwhile, grassroots frustrations are redirected, not resolved—channeled into ethnic divides, economic distractions, or empty nationalism. Honestly, this is not representation; it is subtle form of sedation.
Also, the government’s firm grip on state media, the Guyana Chronicle, Guyana’s National Communication Network (NCN), (also private media owners, who are aligned with government and whose media infrastructure are available for government propaganda and false narratives), and the not- so- subtle sidelining of critical journalism further muzzle genuine dialogue. Dissent, instead of being a democratic necessity, is labeled destabilising.
Democracy doesn’t fear criticism—it feeds on it. But under the PPP/C, criticism is quarantined. It is interesting that a government that boasts about being democratic works overtime to dumb- down voices of truth, in our society.
Guyanese are given oil money promises, road upgrades, bridge plans, and stadiums. They are being told to celebrate “development,” even as the wealth gap widens and decision-making centralises. Citizens are pacified with symbols of progress while policies and governmental actions increasingly reflect the interests of the elite and foreign partners—not the people.
Understand this, it is not that Guyanese are being silenced. It is that their emotions are being managed. Anger is redirected toward the opposition. Discontent is drowned in nationalism or racial division. In fact, people are too busy arguing with their neighbour to see who is really profiting above them. This is the deception of democratic theater. Guyanese are led to believe that they are involved because they are emotionally invested. But being emotionally stirred is not the same as being politically empowered.
It is clear, true democracy demands more than elections and speeches. It demands accountability, decentralisation of power, free media, responsive institutions, and active citizen engagement—not manufactured consent. Guyanese democracy cannot afford to be a spectator sport. The stakes are too high.
If we are to reclaim democracy in Guyana from the PPP/C government’s grips of performance politics, we must ask hard questions, demand real transparency, and challenge a system that pacifies rather than empowers. It begins with recognising the illusion: this stage is not your voice—it is your distraction.
I urge all of our citizens everywhere and anywhere in Guyana to unite now to remove this regime that has been offering up performances to manage our emotion and to distract us from the real issues that have been stunting our growth and prosperity and vote for a government that would bring democracy and sustained prosperity.
