ERC must return to its mandate

Aug 30, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) has once again exposed itself as an institution drifting far from its constitutional moorings and wasting taxpayers’ scarce resources. The revelation that the ERC will field the largest contingent of election observers is not only laughable, but also downright scandalous.

This is not its mandate, and Guyanese must not remain silent while another bloated state agency squanders millions to chase relevance where it has none.

The ERC’s function is unambiguous: to promote harmony, investigate ethnic discrimination, and prevent ethnic divisions. Nowhere in the Constitution, nor in its enabling Act, is the ERC given powers to usurp the role of accredited local or international observer missions. Election observation is a specialized task, undertaken by organizations with technical knowledge, neutrality, and a mandate to evaluate processes. The ERC, by contrast, was created to heal rifts in our society and build trust across communities—not to parade around on Election Day as if it were a substitute for GECOM, the Carter Center, the OAS, or the Commonwealth.

This is a brazen misuse of power and a reckless drain on public funds. At a time when schools are underfunded, communities are crying out for basic services, and poverty bites harder than ever, why is the ERC burning through taxpayers’ money to duplicate functions that others are already performing? Instead of dealing with real issues of ethnic tension, discrimination complaints, and community healing, the ERC is chasing headlines with grand spectacles that serve no purpose except to inflate egos and justify its budget.

The Commission should answer the hard questions: Who authorized this misdirection of resources? How much money is being spent on transport, stipends, and allowances for these observers? What training have they received to qualify them as credible monitors? Most importantly—what credibility does the ERC bring when its very composition and functioning are viewed by many Guyanese as compromised and politically entangled?

The truth is, the ERC is failing in its core duty. Ethnic tensions persist, complaints remain unanswered, and the body is largely invisible until election season rolls around—when it suddenly finds new ways to justify its existence. The decision to mobilize the largest contingent of observers is nothing more than political grandstanding and a desperate attempt to look relevant.

Guyanese must demand accountability. The ERC cannot continue to masquerade as an election watchdog while ignoring its constitutional responsibility. It must be called out for wasting money, duplicating roles, and undermining trust in the very institutions it was created to strengthen. If the Commission truly wants to serve the people, it should return to its mandate: building harmony, addressing discrimination, and fostering genuine unity—not playing at being an election observer.

A. Rampersaud

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ethnic discrimination, Ethnic Relations Commission, mandate, taxpayers

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