At the first sitting of the National Assembly in the 10^th Parliament of Guyana, Mr. Raphael Trotman of the Alliance for Change (AFC) was elected Speaker of the House, while A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member Mrs. Deborah Backer was elected Deputy Speaker. For the first time in the history of Guyana has a combined opposition been in control of the National Assembly. After 20 years of PPP Parliamentary domination, the opposition in Guyana now has an unprecedented chance to properly engage the government in the true spirit and meaning of democracy.

After a very tense period of gridlock, it is heartening to see the combined opposition come to a sensible compromise on the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Both Trotman and Backer are seasoned politicians, with more than adequate abilities to efficiently and effectively dispense their duties, with the impartiality and fairness their respective positions require.

It is rather unfortunate however, that the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) cannot publicly bring itself to accept its minority status in Parliament. That its members can openly criticise the opposition of ‘ganging-up’ on them, with regard to the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, is a little short of juvenile. The reality of this 10^th Parliament is that the PPP are in the minority with 32 seats, as against a combined opposition of 33 seats. The PPP must recognise and embrace its minority Parliamentary status with dignity.

Guyanese voted for Change. Both opposition parties campaigned along a few variations of that Change. They both want to see good governance and economic stability. Both are very determined to eliminate corruption and cronyism; two of the monsters created by the PPP. The combined opposition also campaigned (though separately) for the reform of several committees and commissions. Both are determined to revisit the President’s pension package. Constitution reform was another critical issue upon which the opposition campaigned.

With the opposition in control of Parliament, Guyanese might be able to witness some of the changes they voted for becoming realities.

It might be argued that the opposition stance on a number of issues affecting Guyanese makes the PPP very uncomfortable, especially when one looks at the PPP’s track record. Some of the excesses that the Jagdeo administration allowed will surely be curtailed with this new Parliamentary arrangement. Accountability will be the key word in this new Parliament. The combined opposition must utilise its strategic advantageous position in Parliament to preside over the astute management of the country’s affairs.

The semantics emanating from the PPP regarding the opposition’s determination to use its majority vote to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker is nothing but a failed attempt at feigning victimization. For 20 years, the PPP with their outright majority status in Parliament spared no effort in passing legislations, many of which were devastating to the Guyanese people. Now they have lost that majority, they speak of this new Parliament as a charade?

The PPP must recognise that the time for true democracy has arrived. No longer can they breeze through Parliament and put up any hair-brained piece of legislation and have it passed whether the opposition challenges it or not. This new Parliament will enforce bilateral dialogue. The government must sensibly engage the opposition on crucial matters of the state. The change that Guyanese voted for has begun with this new Parliament.

The work of fixing Guyana has started. As the business of Parliament gathers momentum, the combined opposition must work assiduously to return Guyana to a state of prosperity. The opposition must cast aside their petty differences and commit itself to working for the good of Guyana. And as the PPP continues to whimper about its minority reality, the opposition must ensure that it constructs sound mechanisms for establishing accountability and the arduous eradication of ubiquitous corruption.