The PPP/C Government is committed to building economic progress and social improvement, ensuring respect for human and political rights, and freedom of expression, says Guyana’s President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during his virtual address to the United States’(US) summit for democracy yesterday.
The Head of State said democracy cannot be maintained nationally unless it is sustained internationally.
“Democratic enhancement and renewal, therefore, require global effort; one that takes full account of the multidimensional aspects of democracy, including the provision of conditions for economic progress,” Dr. Ali underscored.
The Guyanese leader reminded of the five-month-long electoral impasse that engulfed the country following the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections, which he noted, delayed and almost denied democracy.
“It was only the vigilance of the Guyanese people, supported by a watchful international community, that prevented Guyana from being plunged into a dictatorship with all its disastrous consequences,” Dr. Ali said.
To this end, he stressed his administration’s determination to strengthen the pillars of democracy, ensuring voters enjoy free, fair, and transparent elections.
“We are aware that adherence to democracy and the rule of law must be aligned with economic and social progress in conditions of non-discrimination, equity, and equal opportunities. That is the course on which Guyana is now firmly embarked, domestically,” Dr. Ali said.
Further, the President emphasised, “we have recently become an oil and gas producing nation, and after decades of being the second poorest nation in the Americas, we are on the cusp of an economic transformation.”
Government is also devoted to the ambition of empowering prosperity for every Guyanese.
Dr. Ali stated that dictatorships can become pandemics and infect political processes globally, especially in vulnerable countries. He said too, that adherence to the rule of law must be aligned with economic and social enhancement.