Elections must be seen to be free and fair

May 29, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

It is good to know that the Organization of American States has offered to render assistance to the electoral processes in the impending elections.
Guyana has always benefited in the past from electoral assistance from the international community, both in terms of logistical and technical support as well as in the observance of our electoral processes.
Given our history of fraudulent elections, especially during the pre-1992 period, it is in the best interest of democracy and democratic governance for our elections to be closely monitored both by overseas and local observer groups.
The Electoral Assistance Bureau had in the past played a useful role in the monitoring of elections in Guyana. I am not sure what the current status of this body is, but I do believe that it has a continuing role to play in the monitoring of elections in Guyana.
In fact, more such observer groups should be formed and accredited by the Guyana Elections Commission as the country prepares for General and Regional elections. This will greatly help in terms of confidence building measures and will certainly lend credibility to the electoral processes.
It is not enough for observers to monitor elections only on elections day, but long in advance, to ensure that the playing field, as it were, is level, and none of the contesting parties enjoy any undue advantage.
Moreover, President David Granger should send a clear message to all those interested in monitoring the elections, that they would be most welcome to so do. There should be no room for ambiguity on the matter of transparency and fairness. Billions of taxpayers’ dollars are being spent on the holding of elections, and it is only fair that the allocated sums are utilized to deliver credible elections.
Elections must not only be free and fair but it must be seen to be free and fair. This is the challenge facing us as we observe yet another milestone in our life as an independent nation. Regrettably, current developments in GECOM do not inspire confidence that elections will be above board. I will be happy to be proven wrong.
Hydar Ally

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