October 5th – a date synonymous with the “return of free and fair elections” to Guyana after the 28-year-long darkness of dictatorship through rigged elections by the Peoples’ National Congress. It culminated a long struggle waged by Guyanese here and abroad, in which the international community was lobbied to help Guyanese to have their fundamental right to choose their government returned. The PNC fought these efforts tooth and nail, often through brutal means that included murder and assassination. While the world is aware about Dr. Walter Rodney’s assassination because of his fame as a historian and his activism, he was only one of several killed among hundreds imprisoned and tortured.
But, so many years later in 2020, we were once again in the throes of fighting for democracy’s survival in our land, as the PNC remains hell-bent on refusing to accept the fundamental rule of democracy. To wit, that each vote should count, and that an agglomeration of the majority of votes of the populace confers the legitimacy for the winning party to govern on behalf of all the people. They blatantly attempted to rig the March 2, 2020 elections in front of literally the world – not via news reports, but directly by the representatives/observers of Caricom, the Commonwealth, the OAS, EU, US and other embassies like India. They scrutinised both the count and recount that went to the Caribbean Court of Justice, but the PNC still insisted they won and the PPP was “illegally installed”.
Wednesday, was the 30th anniversary of the first free and fair general election in Guyana.
That day, October 05, 1992, under the scrutiny of international observers, led by former President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter, a once unimaginable change in government was effected through a democratic process. The significance of that day in the context of Guyana’s subsequent development must not be allowed to be diminished.
The end of an oppressive regime was realised on that day much to the delight of a wary nation and its beaten, but not broken people.
What followed that date is historic as the nation subsequently experienced unprecedented development.
As the local landscape was being transformed, international respectability was restored and the nation reclaimed its place within that community. Its voice was heard; so did the voices of Guyanese. It was liberated following the political change that that October 05 precipitated, so much so that public criticism of government became routine; reflective of a democracy. With a new found voice, a renewed mindset aided by the creation of enabling environments, poverty began to be reduced through job creation and eventually prosperity and self-empowerment were infused.
The have-nots got as exemplified by the realisation of another dream; owning a home. Something as fundamental as a self-owned abode, was beyond the reach of the masses prior to that historic October 05.
Guyanese from all strata of society were able to benefit as their once broken nation was being rebuilt.
Phones were no longer for the ‘appeared privileged’ and public transportation was no longer a burden in the context of availability of the requisite vehicles.
A plethora of media outfits were established, predominantly electronic, and sales for appliances boomed. No longer could information be withheld aided by the Internet, Guyana comfortably slipped into the global village as real-time communication was achieved within that transformative period. Those who lived through both eras, the 1964-1992 and post, would not only be in the best position to compare, but to best value what October 05, 1992 signifies.
Teenagers today have grown up in a society far more advanced than what their parents would have experienced. It is common knowledge that parents toil and make untold sacrifices to give their children a better life, but that can be rendered almost impossible in an era of oppression, shortages and despondency. Whilst there was more to be done, the enabling environments created as a result of October 05, 1992, allowed Guyanese to not only realise dreams, but to dream bigger.
Every country has various dates of significance. For Guyana, May 26, 1966, was when the shackles of colonialism were unchained; February 23, 1970 heralded a Republic. What is significant of October 05, 1992? It returned freedom and dignity, restored respect and self-worth and made the unachievable achievable.
