Bharrat Jagdeo stood unbending, invincible – saved Guyana from descent into dictatorship

Just over one year ago, Dr Irfaan Ali was sworn in as Guyana’s 9th President. The swearing-in ceremony was delayed for fully five months as the then incumbent President and APNU/AFC tried desperately to rig the March 2 elections’ results. Those five months represented an attempted coup. Led by the PPP, the Guyanese people stood strong, resolute in defense of democracy. The newer political parties that participated deserve our gratitude today. The Diplomatic Corps and the ABC countries refused to budge, they saw for themselves that the elections were conducted freely and fairly, and they saw the obvious attempt to steal the elections. Ordinary Guyanese citizens made clear their rejection of the dictators. The media in Guyana and in the Caribbean became part of the resistance. Caricom stood resolute against any attempt to rig the results. Present and former Caricom Prime Ministers, such as PM Mia Mottley (Barbados) and PM Dr Ralph Gonsalves (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), Owen Arthur (Barbados) and Bruce Golding (Jamaica) did not abandon Guyana.
As we celebrate Guyana’s first anniversary of this Dr. Irfaan Ali-led PPP Government, Guyanese have much to acknowledge and celebrate. Certainly, we must acknowledge the phenomenal role Dr. Irfaan Ali has played as a young President. He has earned the respect and admiration not only of PPP supporters, but supporters from other parties, not only in Guyana, but across the region and the world. The Irfaan Ali-led Government has managed against all odds to squeeze in a whole term in one year. His Government has worked as if we have to recover from the five years of APNU/AFC mismanagement in one year. Few governments in history in this region or around the world could match the busyness and the effectiveness of this first-term Government in its first year in office. Listening to the plans for the next four years, it appears that young Irfaan Ali is not waiting a lifetime for transformation – he wants to accomplish a complete transformation in this first term. Remarkably, in this first year, President Irfaan Ali has led from the front with several cash transfer programmes that amount to almost $20B in this first year, making it one of the largest cash transfer initiatives in any government’s first year within Caricom. We celebrate his success, but we also are aware that there is a steadying hand alongside him – the visionary Bharrat Jagdeo.
This week, we celebrate not merely the first anniversary of President Irfaan Ali and his new PPP Government, we celebrate – most importantly – the survival of Guyana’s fledgling democracy. Make no mistake, the five months of attempted theft of the elections was an attempted coup and an effort to consolidate a dictatorship that was building up since 2015. In 2015, the PNC-led coalition took power, literally. Many said that after more than twenty years out of government, the PNC must have changed and that they deserved a second chance. But DNA cannot be changed. The PNC immediately began to show glimpses of their old self, they reminded people that their DNA is one of authoritarianism and arrogance. The attempted rigging of the elections’ results between March and August 2020 was no coincidence. The riggers had power, and they only knew how to keep power through rigging.
The Guyanese people won the battle in defense of democracy. Throughout the struggle before the elections, and throughout the resistance between March and August 2020, one man stood out – Bharrat Jagdeo. To use a cliché – he was cool, calm and calculating. He remained unflappable. Bharrat Jagdeo inspired people to fight back, but never lost his calmness and confidence. I was privileged to be around him many times during that period. When many feared that the dictators could not be stopped, he openly announced that the dictators would fail, and that he and the PPP and the people of Guyana would not allow David Granger and the PNC cabals to return Guyana to a dictatorship. He orchestrated the judicial challenges. He kept the Guardian of Democracy busy in safeguarding the SOPs that were stored in containers. He quietly lobbied among the international organisations and the Diplomatic Corps. He kept the pressure on GECOM, but understood that we needed to give the Chair room to function. When necessary, he organised people to raise their voices.
When he agreed for a full recount of all the Regions, many said it was a mistake. But Bharrat Jagdeo knew that we had to be patient. In the early days, soon after March 2, I was privileged to be at Freedom House from early in the morning until late in the evening. He was always there.
Bharrat Jagdeo, I know, was worried like all of us were. I saw him pace the floor many days when we were alone in that building. I knew he was worried too. But he never let anyone know, because he knew that people wanted assurance. Bharrat Jagdeo was our North Star, guiding us, inspiring the Guyanese people, and assuring everyone that in the end all will be alright. The resistance that Bharrat Jagdeo led forced Granger and APNU/AFC to give up and abort the attempted rigging of the elections. As we celebrate the successful defense of Guyana’s democracy, we must remember that Bharrat Jagdeo stood tall, unbending and invincible. He is a genuine national hero.