Article 13 welcomes the invitation to the public and stakeholders by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance for comments on the Government’s draft proposals for amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), and proposed new regulations.
From the years 1968 to 1985, elections were marred by widespread rigging that brought ignominy to Guyana and threatened the social fabric of the country.
While elections between 1992 and 2015 were more democratic, they were not without problems or issues.
Those, however, pale in comparison to the blatant attempt by leading State actors and GECOM officials to undermine the March 2020 elections. Article 13 considers genuine electoral reforms a national imperative for Guyana’s democratic development, a prerequisite to social, political, and economic progress.
Article 13 has reviewed the several proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act as well as the proposed introduction of the new Regulations under that Act. We note that several of the amendments introduce severe penalties, including a $10 M fine and life imprisonment for certain conduct by elections officials.
Article 13 shares the concerns expressed by commentators that the proposed amendments are inadequate and unsatisfactory. They fail to address some of the more fundamental problems associated with elections. We are concerned too that if these proposals make their way into the law, they can have a chilling effect on the willingness of citizens to serve for a paltry sum as clerks on election day.
Any attempt at reform must begin with an analysis of the problem. An exercise of this nature must proceed from the recognition that a deficient apparatus will produce flawed results. Part of that problem is the Carter-Price model of an Elections Commission made up of competing politicians.
This Model which was intended as a temporary measure for the 1992 Elections has installed Commissioners claiming lifetime tenure and seemingly committed to doing everything but their constitutional duty.
This arrangement has to be changed by a constitutional amendment and replaced by independent Commissioners appointed by a Constitutional Commission for a limited period of no more than two elections cycles.
The proposed amendments fail to address the sore point of the List of Electors. The question of who may and may not vote in elections is a problem that we can no longer avoid. In this regard, the possibility of dual citizens Guyanese being allowed to participate as candidates in elections should be examined.
The proposed amendments do nothing to address the situation in which the Chief Elections Officer is also the Head of Registration – a concentration of power and functions which is unacceptable.
Any reform ought to make elections more democratic by facilitating voting by qualified electors. Article 13 strongly advocates for the re-introduction of Independents in the National Assembly and the removal of the statutory requirement that participation in national elections is restricted to parties contesting six of the ten Polling Districts (Regions).
On the question of campaign financing, GECOM and the political parties continue to defy the ROPA on the grounds that the amount permitted is grossly inadequate. Yet, there is no proposal for increasing that limit or preventing elections from becoming hostage to foreign interests and private capital. Nor do the proposed amendments deal with the abuse of state resources by the party in Government and egregiously, the shutting out of opposition parties from the state media.
Article 13 calls on the Government to immediately extend the period of consultation which ends on December 17, and to engage in meaningful consultation with the people of the country. The laid down procedure lacks transparency, shuts out large segments of the population and fails to address the fundamental issues affecting elections in Guyana since Independence fifty-five years ago.
Spokespersons for Article 13
