Elections in Guyana cannot be rigged

Sep 22, 2014 News

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…GECOM has ample measures in place – Ramkarran

 “The presence of a large number of deceased persons on the list is not evidence of fraud but of the lack of capacity of the government department which is the custodian of the records of births and deaths,” said Ramkarran.

Ever Since Rudy Collins, Chairman of what was then known as the Elections Commission, put his life on the line in October 1992 against rampaging mobs determined to thrash the Commission’s offices and derail the electoral process, the Commission has been the target of politicians who seek an excuse for losing elections.
This is the view held by renowned political analyst, Ralph Ramkarran, who in his latest writings has defended the Commission and further charges that elections in Guyana cannot be rigged.

The former Peoples Progressive Party stalwart reminded that the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), which has lost all elections since 1992, has claimed that each and every one has been rigged by the PPP and/or the Elections Commission.
These allegations of fraud, Ramkarran observed, continued up to the 2011 elections, notwithstanding that all elections were judged to be free and fair by both overseas and local observers.
The 2011 elections were also condemned as being rigged by the PPP.
Ramkarran drew reference to the fact too that at his recent weekly press conferences, the General Secretary of the PPP, Clement Rohee, has made a series of scathing accusations against GECOM, mainly in relation to the list of electors – that it is padded with dead and non-existent persons and is flawed.
Ramkarran is adamant that elections in Guyana cannot be rigged and points to the efficiency of GECOM, its internal management capacity, its systems of control, its quality of training, its management of registration and of elections which have all improved with every election and have continued to make giant strides.
According to Ramkarran, “the standard of integrity and professionalism set by Rudy Collins has been maintained by all Chairpersons.”
Ramkarran pointed to the fact that GECOM administers laws and manages established systems.
In his analysis, Ramkarran surmised that these laws require GECOM to invite persons who qualify to register.
Persons responding to the invitation, have to prove their identity, must not yet have registered and must give an address.
He noted that there is no law or practice that requires GECOM to go in the field and investigate the persons who apply to be registered.
According to Ramkarran, “This is the task of political parties which, through their scrutineers, are given the names of registrants…They are free to check the identities or addresses of the registrants and make objections at the appropriate time…They have sufficient time to verify the registrants and their addresses between the time of registration and elections. If they are dissatisfied they have the opportunity of making objections during the claims and objections period.”
According to Ramkarran, failure to do so, and public complaints against GECOM thereafter, will expose the failure of political parties to do their jobs.
He noted too that there are strict rules enshrined in laws about deleting the names of persons who have died.
“The presence of a large number of deceased persons on the list is not evidence of fraud but of the lack of capacity of the government department which is the custodian of the record of births and deaths which is required to report deaths registered to GECOM so that the names can be deleted,” said Ramkarran.
He said if the records have been supplied and GECOM has failed to delete the names, it must answer. “The only other method by which names can be deleted is if claims are made at the appropriate time…Relatives rarely ever do so.”
According to Ramkarran, it is the task of the political parties, not GECOM, to ensure that names of deceased persons are deleted from the list by making objections during the claims and objections period.
He noted hypothetically that assuming that the list contains a large number of fictitious and deceased persons and if there is a large enough number of such persons on the list to affect the outcome of the elections, it would be so obvious that it would be a national scandal.
“To vote for those persons on a scale that would affect the outcome of the elections would require a conspiracy involving hundreds of election officials, or more, and thousands of persons in various parts of the country to vote illegally…Blatant and open rigging activities can take place only in conditions where the entire electoral process has collapsed or has been hijacked. In every election some fraud takes place. If any takes place in Guyana it is so negligible that it cannot affect the outcome of elections.”

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