The Alliance For Change yesterday expressed concern at what it said was conflicting reports about the preparedness of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the upcoming elections, while warning against attempts to delay funds to the body.
“The AFC has noted with concern the conflicting reports regarding the preparedness of GECOM to successfully stage the upcoming regional and general elections within the constitutional time frame,” said party Executive Martin Cheong, who read from a prepared statement yesterday. “We have been reliably informed that the major constraint to GECOM being able to achieve this deadline is the timely or untimely disbursement of funds from the government,” he told reporters at the party’s first weekly press briefing in the run up to general elections.
“In light of the fact that all the major parties have selected their respective presidential candidates, signalling their readiness to participate in these elections, we hereby call on the government to ensure that all necessary funding be made available to GECOM so that the Guyanese public can exercise their franchise and vote for a change,” he added.
Cheong said that with the commencement of the final stage of the registration process, the AFC is reiterating its concerns about the number of persons who are unable to register because of the lack of source documents. “The right to vote is a constitutionally guaranteed right, thus all efforts should be made by all the relevant authorities… to ensure the speedy processing of new applications during the claims and objections period,” he urged, while also calling for the establishment of a special unit within the registration office.
AFC Presidential Candi-date Khemraj Ramjattan suggested that the government would like to use its own funds to avoid any leverage that could come if donor money is used to stage the elections. “This is dangerous,” he said, adding that it could lead to a delay in elections.
Meanwhile, party leaders yesterday said the AFC will proceed with its Freedom of Information (FOI) and broadcasting bills, since the government seems disinclined to bring the legislation to the National Assembly as promised.
The AFC had drafted bills and tabled them in the House but deferred them since the government had indicated that it would bring its own versions. AFC leader Raphael Trotman yesterday said that he will bring the FOI bill up “at the first opportunity.” He said that he believed that government is moving to dissolve Parliament before August, bringing its parliamentary agenda to an end.
Ramjattan also said that he would bring up his Broad-casting Bill. “We are going to ensure that it comes up and if they (government) want to vote against it, they can do so,” said Ramjattan. It was noted that the government has promised several times to bring the bills to the National Assembly but these promises are yet to be fulfilled.
The party’s Prime Minis-terial Candidate Sheila Holder said that she will also seek to bring up the campaign financing bill tabled by her.
Meanwhile, the AFC also condemned “the present government instructed policy of refusing the parliamentary opposition parties access to the state media.”
Holder said that recently AFC councillor Michael Carrington was denied the right to place an ad on state-owned NCN. “Moreover, the AFC wishes to express its disapproval of the adopted policy of the administration having unlimited and unabridged access to NCN but only providing paid access to the opposition three months prior to the election,” she said.
“The AFC believes that such discriminatory practices are undemocratic. Government’s domination of the state media in the absence of equitable Freedom of Information and Broadcasting legislation is usually noted in all political science texts as a characteristic of totalitarian regimes,” Holder added. She said that the AFC is committed to a liberal approach in the distribution of the spectrum in the context of such legislation.
She said that NCN has been engaging in “wickedness” against the AFC and not conducting itself in a way appropriate for state media. She suggested that the AFC may have to ask questions in Parliament regarding the state-owned channel.
