The benchmark of elections

Today, Guyana goes to the polls to elect our government for the next five years. The US has had the longest experience with democratic elections and their exposition on “The Benchmark of Elections” is salutary: “Elections are the central institution of democratic representative governments. Why? Because, in a democracy, the authority of the government derives solely from the consent of the governed. The principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the holding of free and fair elections.”
But it cautioned, that based on its experience, “All modern democracies hold elections, but not all elections are democratic.” In answering the question, “What Are Democratic Elections?”, the statement pointed out that “Jeane Kirkpatrick, scholar and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has offered this definition: “Democratic elections are not merely symbolic….They are competitive, periodic, inclusive, definitive elections in which the chief decision-makers in a government are selected by citizens who enjoy broad freedom to criticize government, to publish their criticism and to present alternatives.”
The US statement elaborated in more concrete terms on the non-negotiability of “free and fair elections” for democratic governance: “Democracies thrive on openness and accountability, with one very important exception: the act of voting itself. To cast a free ballot and minimize the opportunity for intimidation, voters in a democracy must be permitted to cast their ballots in secret. At the same time, the protection of the ballot box and tallying of vote totals must be conducted as openly as possible, so that citizens are confident that the results are accurate and that the government does, indeed, rest upon their “consent.”
When the election is over, the losers accept the judgment of the voters. If the incumbent party loses, it turns over power peacefully. No matter who wins, both sides agree to cooperate in solving the common problems of the society. The losers, now in the political opposition, know that they will not lose their lives or go to jail. On the contrary, the opposition, whether it consists of one party or many, can continue to participate in public life with the knowledge that its role is essential in any democracy worthy of the name. They are loyal not to the specific policies of the government, but to the fundamental legitimacy of the state and to the democratic process itself.
As the next election comes around, opposition parties will again have the opportunity to compete for power. In addition, a pluralistic society, one in which the reach of government is limited, tends to offer election losers alternatives for public service outside government. Those defeated at the polls may choose to continue as a formal opposition party, but they may also decide to participate in the wider political process and debate through writing, teaching, or joining one of many private organizations concerned with public policy issues. Democratic elections, after all, are not a fight for survival but a competition to serve.”
In Guyana, however, some politicians who are vying to represent “the people” in government exploit our divisions when they seek to agglomerate votes by claiming to be willing to articulate the interests of the particular camps. Democratic politicians, then, represent “part” of the electorate; hence the term “party” to describe their vehicle of representation. This origin also gave us the word “partisan” to describe the stance of both those who represent, and are represented, in politics.
In the development of our politics, the dangers of partisanship become obvious when the positions of the various camps are severely dichotomised and the camps begin to see politics as a zero-sum proposition and opponents become “enemies”. Politics become a “no-holds barred” affair where parties and not only willing to rig elections but unleash violence that can extend literally into civil wars,
Guyanese know who have violated these democratic rules – as recently as March 2000 – and who have observed them and deserve their vote today. We should vote for the party that has shown it governs for all Guyana.