Our democracy is dysfunctional

Dear Editor,

Mr. Ravi Dev sought to respond to my letter of Oct 2, which as far as I know was only published in Stabroek News. In his response, he seeks to argue that the Ali presidency is legitimate and should be so recognized by Harmon as the quid pro quo for talks. Mr. Dev has completely missed my point of departure or ignores it.

My point of departure has been, and continues to be, that our democracy is dysfunctional, including the elections. It is that dysfunctionality, which has its roots in the evolution of Guyana as a plural, conflictual and fractured nation state that persists and makes a mockery of the democracy to which Ravi Dev refers, although he himself has previously identified the said problem.

The manner of Guyana`s evolution has made our ethnic/race relations chronically adversarial, albeit latent at times. My reference to South Africa, Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine relations was simply an illustration to demonstrate how adversarial forces can identify the need for problem solving and not let the antagonism get in the way of seeking a resolution.

In Guyana, gamesmanship and egos seem to be an obstacle. None of the periods of Dev`s and others` democracy and normalcy represent a functional democracy, unto the time of the scripting of this letter when an electoral official is allegedly held in detention for exercising her right to remain silent.

When the idea of talks was mooted, and agreed to, before the results of the elections were announced, it had nothing to do with the results themselves. It was all about addressing the persistent problem that was acutely manifest at the time and is now being stoked and made to fester in the name of a democracy, which I repeat is dysfunctional, inherently erosive and itself fuel for the perennial fire.

Yours faithfully,

Vincent Alexander