The AFC is “very, very concerned” about the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) “lack of preparedness” for upcoming local government polls, saying that the citizenry remains in the dark about its rights and responsibilities under the new electoral system.
“If we are made to believe that the holding of elections is in itself the greatest litmus test of a functioning democracy, rather than the fullest participation of the people, then by all accounts, GECOM is failing miserably to prepare the people to exercise their constitutional and democratic rights to vote, and to elect leaders of their choice,” AFC leader Raphael Trotman said yesterday at a news conference, while noting that polls are scheduled for April.
He added that GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally’s candour in admitting that the commission is operating in “unknown territory” during a poorly attended forum last Friday, must be commended. “But he must go further and say to the political directorate that if we are to have a meaningful local government elections in Guyana then the level of participation of the people has to be way beyond current estimates,” Trotman added.
A well-placed source at GECOM said the commission took the deliberate decision against providing information about the new electoral system in the midst of its public education programme for the Claims and Objections process, fearing that it would confuse people. The source added that the commission’s education programme is separated into different components. GECOM has held public meetings on the new system in Georgetown, Anna Regina and New Amsterdam, so far.
Trotman said too that the full raft of long awaited reforms have yet to be implemented, calling into serious question the success of any local government elections to be held.
“Therefore, elections held just for the sake of holding them, will be disastrous for this nation and will most likely cause irreparable harm to our democracy. Stop playing games with the Guyanese people,” a party statement said.
Meanwhile, Trotman also criticised the commission for keeping the party “completely in the dark” about the progress of general preparations and, in particular, new registrations, claims and objections and the uplifting of ID cards.
Although he noted that occasional packages are delivered to the party’s offices, he said the party was reliably informed that other parties are regularly briefed. He added that as a national stakeholder, the AFC is entitled to be placed on a level playing field and dealt with in the same manner as others are.
The GECOM source said that there has been no deliberate attempt to exclude any political party from the preparation process.
Further, the source noted that there has been no selective release of information to political parties, since the commission has an open door policy and would engage with any party that seeks information.
