Opposition parties call for electoral reforms

The political opposition has supported electoral reforms, provided these do not delay the holding of national elections on the constitutionally due date.

At a forum organised by the Guyana Human Rights Association to discuss the issue, the People’s National Congress Reform, the Alliance For Change, and the Guyana Action Party all concurred that these reforms, which include making the Guyana Elections Commission independent, are necessary. They have supported the view that Guyana’s electoral arrangements fall towards the bottom of any ranking of electoral systems according to accountability, impartiality, and fairness. Desmond Trotman of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) has said that his party has been calling for the necessary reforms, which he described as “extremely important”, for years. 

But he was adamant that consideration must be given to the timely holding of elections, which in his mind is what Guyanese need the most. His party’s co-leader, Dr Rupert Roopnarine, is of the opinion that there are some issues that ought to be addressed before these elections are held in 2011.

One of these issues is the restructuring of the parliamentary system to ensure a more effective and productive legislative arm of government. 

The solution, Dr Roopnarine believes, lies in proportional representation. This view is similar to that expressed by Member of Parliament of the Guyana Action Party (GAP), Everall Franklin, who was less upbeat about such reforms being realized under the current administration.

While the others have given their views on the need for electoral reform, Franklin sees constitutional reform, starting with the removal of the executive presidency, as more important. 

However, leader of The United Force (TUF), Manzoor Nadir, disassociated his party from the whole notion of there being a poor electoral system in Guyana. In fact, he thinks that the country boasts one of the best systems in the hemisphere. 

According to Nadir, Guyana enjoys free and fair elections, and his party supports the ongoing changes that have been occurring in this regard.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic, though invited, said in a note a day before the event that none of its executive members was available to attend the function. 

Meanwhile, all of the political parties in the opposition feel that the Elections Commission should be independent.

David Patterson of the AFC said that party believes the six-member commission should be selected as follows: two members selected by the president of Guyana, two by the opposition after adequate consultation, and two by civil society, one of whom should be a woman. These commissioners, he recommended, should have term limits not exceeding seven years, and should not serve more than one term.

But, PNCR vice chairman Basil Williams told the gathering of civil society groups that his party is quite satisfied with the selection of the commission as currently obtains, with three persons being selected by the government and the other three by the opposition. He, however, supported the views of his colleagues on the need for GECOM to be independent, declaring that the commission should be able to manage its own finances. 

Nadir, who is a government minister, again disagreed with those views, and pointed to the days when there was no permanent elections commission. He believes that this current system works best for the country. Other issues discussed included campaign financing and the party support list. Strong sentiments were also expressed on those areas.

Efforts will be made for another such forum, where discussions on these important topics will continue even as participants hope for the involvement of the ruling PPP/C. The GHRA said that it held a meeting last month with civic organizations, including representatives from the bar, trade unions, human rights, religious, indigenous, disabilities, youth and gender/ women’s sector groups. At that meeting, specific issues which will form the basis of the reform platform were agreed to.