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Proposed amendments to elections laws inadequate – Civil Society Group
Kaieteur News – The pro-democracy group- Article 13 is calling on the government to extend the duration of the public consultation for the proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), even as they said the proposals are “inadequate and unsatisfactory and fail to address some of the more fundamental problems associated with elections.
The civil society group comprised of prominent and outspoken Guyanese such as Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram and telecommunications specialist, Yog Mahadeo; Economist, Ramon Gaskin among others. While noting its reservation with the proposals, the group is inter alia, calling on the government to extend the duration of the public consultation for the proposed amendments.
Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram
In a statement released on Saturday, the group noted that it shares the concerns expressed by commentators that the Government’s draft proposals for amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), and proposed new regulations are “inadequate and unsatisfactory, and fail to address some of the more fundamental problems associated with elections.”
Article 13 noted in the missive, that it considers genuine electoral reforms a national imperative for Guyana’s democratic development, a pre-requisite to social, political and economic progress.
The group said nonetheless that any attempt at reform must begin with an analysis of the problem. According to the civil group, an exercise of this nature must proceed from the recognition that a deficient apparatus will produce flawed results.
Added to this, Article 13 pointed out that 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 cycle. The proposed amendments fail to address the sore point of the List of Electors,” the civil body pointed out in the release.
Among other things, the group noted that the possibility of dual citizens Guyanese being allowed to participate as candidates in elections should be examined.
The statement continued, “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 therefore advocated for the re-introduction of independence in the National Assembly and the removal of the statutory requirement that participation in national elections is restricted to parties contesting in six of the ten Polling Districts (Regions) representing at least thirteen parliamentary seats.
On the question of campaign financing, the group noted that 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 to prevent elections 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 said.
In addition, the group said that it reviewed the several proposed penalties in the amendments to the (ROPA) 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 ten million dollars fine and lifetime imprisonment for certain conducts by elections officials. 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,” the group said in the release.
Article 13 therefore called on the Government to immediately extend the period of consultation, which ends on December 17, 2021. “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, 55 years ago,” Article 13 said.
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