Guyana is putting forward one of its own, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. Her candidacy is historic, and as a Guyanese woman, her rise to such international prominence should ordinarily be a source of enormous national pride.
But there is an uncomfortable question that cannot simply be swept aside in the excitement surrounding her candidacy.
What democratic example is Guyana offering the world?
Guyana appears to be drifting dangerously toward increasingly authoritarian government under the PPP. One of the clearest warning signs is the diminishing role of Parliament itself.
Since the Thirteenth Parliament opened in November 2025, the official parliamentary record lists only four numbered sittings through June 2026. Parliament appears increasingly to be treated as a place the government goes when it needs to conduct essential financial and legislative business, rather than as the living centre of democratic accountability, scrutiny and national debate.
That should trouble every Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation.
Parliament is where a government must answer questions. It is where the opposition challenges policy. It is where elected representatives debate the affairs of the nation in public. A government commanding a parliamentary majority has nothing to fear from Parliament unless it has developed an aversion to scrutiny itself.
And this raises a difficult question for Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett.
If you become Secretary-General of the United Nations, you will be expected to speak to governments around the world about democracy, human rights, accountable institutions, political inclusion and respect for the rule of law.
What will you say when those governments ask about Guyana?
How can the Secretary-General of the United Nations credibly urge governments elsewhere to respect democratic institutions while remaining silent when those institutions are weakened at home by her own political colleagues?
This is bigger than Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. It is about Guyana’s credibility.
We cannot demand one standard from the world and accept another for ourselves.
If Guyana wants to offer the world its leadership, then Guyana must also be prepared to offer the world an example worth following.
