EAB seeks IRI funding for elections monitoring

By Gomatie Gangadin

Twenty-three years after beginning operations in Guyana, the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) is pursuing funding for its resuscitation for the upcoming General and Regional Elections, slated to be held on May 11.

EAB Chairman, Father Malcolm Rodrigues, in a telephone interview with this newspaper on Friday said the Commission recently held talks with several international development partners to secure funds to have the elections watchdog up and functioning for the elections period.

“We are pursuing financing from the International Research Institute (IRI) and from several of the Embassies over here like the United States Embassy among others. We have also approached the United Nations and other groups… we have also approached some local groups..,” the head of the EAB said.

Father Rodrigues said that the EAB was still awaiting word on whether that request would be facilitated. He disclosed, however, that the body has been able to acquire some funding from local groups and as such, he remained optimistic that the unit would be on-stream in the run-up to elections to monitor the overall process in Guyana.

Recommendations

Meanwhile, it was related to this publication that the EAB would be pushing to have its recommendations implemented by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). According to Father Malcolm, the EAB has been observing elections in Guyana since 1992, and most of its recommendations along with those made by the international watchdog groups like the Organisation of American States (OAS) and Commonwealth, have constantly been ignored by the Elections Commission.

When asked if this will affect the role played by the body in the upcoming elections, Rodrigues replied in the negative, noting that despite the past non-implementation of its recommendations, the organisation would continue to fulfil its mandate to ensure that the electoral process is free and fair. He did note, however, that after the upcoming elections, once the Bureau would have compiled its recommendations report, it would endeavour to ensure that discussions with  GECOM is facilitated so that the recommendations could be discussed and implemented when elections are held in future in the country.

The previous recommendations made sought to strengthen both the efficiency and transparency of the electoral body with the aim of also improving its independence.

Topping the list of recommendations was the need to end the practice of having political parties appoint individuals to serve as GECOM Commissioners. This practice remains a key feature at the Commission even to this day with the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) appointing three Commissioners each to oversee the operations of the professionals at GECOM.

The observer groups had also called for electoral reform through amendments which would require political parties participating in the General and Regional Elections to submit their ordinal lists soon after the announcement of elections, while it also explicitly urged that there should be laws, rules and regulations for the declaration and public disclosure of campaign funding. This would ensure transparency and accountability.

None of these were ever implemented.