ERG replies to Freddie Kissoon

May 31, 2021 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Freddie Kissoon in his Kaieteur News column of Tuesday May 18, 2021, has some pointed questions for the Electoral Reform Group (ERG). Here are the answers.
1.       We know arithmetic and do not accept that the half of 65 is 34. The decisive term should be ‘minimum majority’. The minimum majority of 65 is 33.
2.       We accept that the Constitution was violated when election was not called three months after the no-confidence motion.
3.       We accept that the March 2020 election was being rigged for five consecutive months until the pressure from the world caused a halt to the rigging. I personally resented having to become involved in the recount, which at most should only have been for the Statements of Poll (SoPs) that were not produced by the GECOM.
In spite of the differences Mr. Kissoon has with me, the ERG respects the influence he has and often the insights he brings to discussions.
His claim that he has not heard of 99 percent of the ERG members indicates that we may not be the usual suspects. So do not dismiss non-partisan civil society. In a polarised nation, there has to be a way to get the poles together, and such civil society offers a medium.
We are not referring to the polarisation of right and wrong, upon which we do not encroach. Those who are wrong must either demonstrably repent or go. They remain to the country’s detriment. But being right is not enough.
The whole series of events since the no-confidence-motion demonstrated that getting it right is necessary but not sufficient condition for harmony — because there were not sufficient people who knew arithmetic in that party and who had the character to tell their leadership in no uncertain terms that they were wrong.
Education is therefore also necessary. Character we will have to pray for.
The group began meeting weekly in July 2020, became incorporated November 23, 2020, and was launched December 5, 2020. But many of us were involved in election matters before. More recently, but before the March 2020 elections, Dr. Desmond Thomas published his book in December 2019, Electoral System Reform for a Diverse Nation, the case of Guyana. It is available in Austin’s locally and on Amazon, and in a Kindle edition, which has the updates.
The genius of the book is that the electoral system can be reformed according to 5 selected characteristics: proportionality, accountability, inclusiveness, transparency, and stability. The idea of the ERG is that citizens can become sufficiently informed to make the choice.
We never had the opportunity to choose our electoral system. So the work of the ERG is to give citizens that choice. It will not be easy and we will need everybody’s help.
Here is an opportunity to contribute to our own home-chosen electoral system, no matter which party we vote for. Anyone, including Mr. Kissoon, is welcome to inspect our template and data at an arranged time.
Let us demonstrate that all Guyanese can unite in formulating something we can genuinely call our own.
Yours sincerely,
Alfred Bhulai
Secretary, Electoral Reform Group Inc. (ERG)

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