OAS calls for overhaul of Guyana’s antiquated elections laws

…recommends purging voters’ list ahead of any future vote

An overseas electoral observer mission fielded by the Organisation of American States (OAS), has recommended a purging of the Official List of Electors before any future elections are to be held in Guyana.

This is in addition to pursuing a greater use of technology in the voting and tabulating process as well as reforming the country’s Campaign Finance and Elections Laws.
The review of the 2020 election process and recommendations for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) were handed down on Tuesday by Mission Head, the Right Honourable Bruce Golding—Former Prime Minister of Jamaica—who led a team of electoral specialists from across 13 countries.
Speaking to the issue of the voters’ list, Golding told members of the media that the development of a technology solution that allows the “collection and transmission of images of Statement of Polls and collated results from regional locations to a central server location in Georgetown would allow Guyana to implement a more modern tabulation system which facilitates the publication of preliminary results.”
As such, Golding said the OAS mission is recommending to the Commission that they implement a system that would allow the issuance of preliminary results for national elections, in order to make this information available on election day….”
According to Golding “GECOM should also consider including a technology solution in the electoral system which supports the final tabulation of the results of the election.”

Comprehensive reform
On the matter of the list of voters, Golding told stakeholders present that the Official List of Electors for this year’s election was 660,998 persons, a “number that is relatively high in relation to the estimated population of Guyana—approximately 785,000.”
Golding told reporters that it was reported to him that the reasons for the bloated list include the fact that there were dead persons still on the list along with persons that no longer reside in Guyana.
It was explained that this is compounded by the fact that the law—as was recently upheld by the Chief Justice—provides limitations on how names can be removed.
The OAS, as such, “recommends a comprehensive reform of the voter registration system along with the necessary legislative authorisation for registration, changes to voters’ lists and submission of complaints about the exclusion or inclusion of voters.”
He said GECOM should undertake “a House-to-House Registration exercise at the earliest possible opportunity upon completion of the election and periodically thereafter.”
Meanwhile, turning his attention to the issue of Campaign Financing, Golding observed that while there is some form of legislative provisions in this regard, these are antiquated.
He observed that according to the Act, candidates and their agents must submit a report on their expenses to GECOM upon the conclusion of an electoral process.”
The Former Jamaican Prime Minister noted, however, that the provision sets a limit on expenses at US$250 per candidate. He noted further that the Act does not make provision for the disclosure of the sources of contributions received by candidates or their agents, neither are there effective enforcement mechanisms.
According to Golding, there are no expense reports that are submitted by candidates though it is required by law and there are no limits on campaign expenses, neither are there reports on contributions or donors.
It was observed too that there is no “guidance on the use of State resources.”
As such, Golding noted that the OAS is recommending that the existing legislation be revised and modernised to include clear limits on campaign spending, the identification of the sources of funding, the prevention of anonymous donations and the limitation of private and in-kind donations to political and electoral campaigns.
He said consideration should be given to the inclusion in such a regulatory framework of State funding for political parties and campaigns.
Golding told reporters that the Mission’s outlined recommendations were preliminary in nature and that a more detailed report on the mission’s observations and suggestions will be presented to the OAS Permanent Council in Washington, DC, along with stakeholders in Guyana.