Lewis Urges Opposition to Unite and Push Inclusive Governance Reforms

By Mark DaCosta- Veteran trade unionist and Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) General Secretary Lincoln Lewis has challenged the parliamentary Opposition to unite behind a concrete legislative reform proposal to give effect to Article 13 of the Constitution, declaring that decades of political promises have failed to deliver meaningful inclusive governance.

In his weekly Eye on Guyana column published on October 25, 2026, Lewis said Guyana’s failure to implement the constitutional commitment to inclusionary democracy represents an indictment of the country’s political leadership. He urged the Opposition to seize Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo’s recent overtures on shared governance and demand enforceable changes that would limit unilateral political control.

Article 13, which commits the State to establishing an inclusionary democracy, was assented to in 2001 by then President Jagdeo following pressure from organised labour, the leadership of the late Desmond Hoyte and regional involvement through CARICOM.