Power-sharing off the table for Government, opposition talks
There is no formal proposal for power-sharing between the Government and the opposition, although both sides have agreed to discuss areas of cooperation.
The concept of the two sides finding a way to share executive power has been articulated in political sphere as a way forward for Guyana. Both President David Granger and Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo stated that they favour inclusionary Government where the discussions would centre on matters of mutual interest. “We have never requested powersharing,” Jagdeo stated. President Granger has indicated his willingness to meet with Jagdeo this month, but there is no indication from either side of formally placing the matter on the agenda.
“Guyana can move faster if you have some form of arrangement where all the parties can be involved. I can’t define a specific mode, but I believe in that. This (Coalition) Government needed its own time to come to that realisation”, Jagdeo noted.
He stated that inclusionary Government cannot be powersharing. Jagdeo noted that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had previously pointed out that working towards inclusionary Government and building trust is essential to executive power-sharing.
President Granger has said that there is no deal for power sharing, although the Opposition has signalled its interest in pursuing inclusionary path to Governance. “In terms of inclusionary democracy, you know the history of that, but I will continue to engage the Leader of the Opposition to ensure that important elements in society and the economy are discussed and we share ideas”, the President has stated. Head of the Carter Center, former US President Jimmy Carter, had recently reached out to Jagdeo and Granger in an effort to get the Government and Opposition to hold discussions on critical issues of national importance.
President Granger has made it clear that former United States President Jimmy Carter is not a broker in the talks between himself and the Opposition Leader.
“He is not establishing some new procedure, as a friend of Guyana he enquired about the process and whether there were any obstacles and I gave him some answers based on the experiences we had since 2015, so I would not agree there is an ongoing formula or process supervised by President Carter”, the President explained.
The Head of State noted that progress can be made with regard to talks with Opposition Leader.
“I never denied or failed to meet Mr. Jagdeo, I wouldn’t. As Leader of the Opposition he represents a substantial proportion of the population, and I don’t need Mr. Carter to tell me that.”
(Kaieteur News)