PPP tried to stoke racial tension during 2015 elections

May 29, 2017 News

– Carter Center report says Coalition also fueled distrust in the electoral process

The Carter Centre has accused the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) of stoking racial tensions between Indians and African Guyanese during the 2015 election.
In its report, the Carter Center said that the election 2015 campaign was fiercely fought, and several themes colored the general environment: ethnic politics, as both a uniting and dividing factor; historical struggles among political parties; the need for continuity and change; and underlying threats of violence.
With the deployment in late April of six medium-term observers across Guyana’s 10 administrative regions, Carter Center observed campaign events across the country.
Carter Center reported that the atmosphere was generally “lively”, with provocative language frequently deployed by both sides to malign the other.
But it was recorded that in many instances, “parties used ethnically charged or coded rhetoric in an apparent attempt to reinforce ethnic solidarity or kindle fears of violence and unrest.”
The organization recalled that on May 5, it released a public statement that provided an initial assessment of the pre-election environment based on the activities of its medium-term observers and core team experts.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

Observers reportedly heard many allegations of electoral offences being committed by supporters of both of the main political parties. Carter Center said that these were principally about the destruction of flags, banners, and billboards. However, very few formal complaints were submitted to police and the elections commission.
In the May 5 statement, the Center registered deep concern about the provocative rhetoric in the campaign and condemned any attempt to sow fear and distrust among Guyana’s ethnic groups or to undermine confidence in its electoral process and institutions. The organization said that the statement was in response to reports from observers that the ruling party was issuing provocative allegations at its rallies about the potential for constitutional democracy and human rights to be undermined by the military should the opposition win the elections.
It was noted that in Guyana’s ethno-political context, “such statements appeared to be designed to play on the fears of the African–Guyanese dominated security services among the ruling party’s Indian–Guyanese base.”
Carter Center continued to note that an earlier statement at a campaign event by Bharrat Jagdeo was deemed “ethnically divisive by the media monitoring unit, an arm of the Guyana Elections Commission, and attracted a private legal action under incitement laws.”
Carter Center said that to a lesser extent, the APNU +AFC coalition was responsible for disturbing campaign rhetoric as well.
“At rallies, it claimed that recent elections that had been widely accepted as legitimate, including by international observers, had been rigged. Such rhetoric went beyond exhortations to supporters to be vigilant on election day and fueled distrust in the electoral process by raising the possibility that its supporters would be unwilling to accept the election results should the coalition lose the election.”
The Carter Center noted that its statement reiterated the need for political parties to remain conscious of their obligations under the Political Party Code of Conduct; a regulatory document signed by political parties in advance of the campaign period, and urged their supporters to behave accordingly.

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