The Head of the “European Union Electoral Observation Mission” (EU EOM) has returned to Guyana with his group’s report on the March 2 elections, and has been presenting it to the various stakeholders. This will culminate in a conclave at the ACCC on Monday, when the latter will be joined by civil society organisations and the media to generate wider consensus on the EU’s recommendations. This approach fits in with the position of President Irfaan Ali’s administration, reiterated immediately after being installed in office following the PNC’s prolonged, five-month war of attrition to cling to power. President Ali reiterated his commitment to Constitutional and Electoral Reform. These, he insisted, should address the challenges manifested during the previous two years, but should emanate from a consultative process involving the widest possible Guyanese public. The Monday meeting can be seen as the beginning of the process.
Back in Oct 2020, Attorney General Anil Nandalall, specifically with regard to Electoral Reform, had announced: “The Government has committed to looking at the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and other pieces of legislation to reform them to cover all the loopholes that have been exploited by the political fraudsters after the elections.” He indicated that the Govt of Canada had been approached for assistance, and had given a favourable response.
Among the proposed reforms, the AG elaborated, is ensuring that Statements of Poll (SOPs) are published by the respective political parties on a website and made public within hours of receipt. Efforts will also be made to ensure oversight mechanisms are in place to scrutinise the work of the Returning Officers (RO), thereby guarding against the declaration of false results by rogue officers.
The proposals also include a system where employment procedures and practices are used to ensure the best candidates are selected to work at elections, and to also have fixed qualifications, character references and testimonials for those officials. It is also seeking to ensure that there is a heavy penal system accompanying electoral offences, which would deter any official from doing wrong during the elections.
The Carter Center had early on indicated it was willing to assist in the needed Constitutional and Electoral Reforms. The EU’s Report and recommendations are quite comprehensive, and includes 26 recommendations, with eight of them highlighted as “priority”. The latter are, “to review and consolidate the fragmented election legislation; launch a consultation process to overhaul the composition and functioning of the Elections Commission; develop effective legislation to regulate political finance; foster transparency and accountability in online and offline campaigning; transform the state-owned media into a genuine public service broadcaster; adopt clear written procedures for transmission and tabulation of election results; accompany any declaration of results by simultaneous publication of detailed polling station results and digital copies of all Statements of Poll; and establish a comprehensive election dispute resolution system.”
Apropos the need for consolidating the legislation governing elections, these were developed over the decades following independence to accommodate various imperatives. They include the Burnhamite 1980 Constitution, which was extensively amended following PNC violent protests after 1998. Then there is the Representation of the People Act (1964, as amended), the National Registration Act (1967, as amended) and the Elections Laws Act (1996). These were all amended by the Election Laws (Amendment) Act No. 15 (2000) and by the Local Democratic Organs Act (1980, as amended). The electoral framework is further augmented by other acts, including the National Assembly (Validity of Elections) Act (1964, as amended) and GECOM’s orders and notices. The EU EOM proposed that all this legislation governing Guyana’s electoral process should be consolidated into one comprehensive electoral law.
The EU is also suggesting, as the AG did earlier, that there is a dire need for the Constitution to be amended to allow the procedural and substantive aspects of the laws governing the formation of GECOM to be amended so that they do not lead to the gridlock we experienced over the last two years.
