The Citizenship Initiative (TCI), one of nine political parties contesting the March 2 General Elections, officially launched their campaign on Sunday declaring themselves “fairly confident” that they will find a place at the head of the “plurality of parties” set to enter the National Assembly.
Speaking at the launch, Presidential Candidate Rondha-Ann Lam stressed that her party was committed to a politics of “radical transformer” which is youth oriented and determined to have gender equity.
She noted that TCI won’t be the party to lie to the electorate and make promises they can’t keep even if they were to be elected to government.
As to their chances of making it into government, Lam stressed that the party was not deluding themselves so they have chosen to aim for a “few seats” in the Assembly so that they can table a few bills related to constitutional reform, a repeal of the Cybercrime bill and the possible abolishment of the Grade Six examinations.
The party which aims to foster “citizenry participation” in the electoral and governance process has also committed to releasing their campaign financing information. Lam noted that their party has already made public the sums received in donations and is committed to showing the public at the end of February “how that money came in and how it was spent.”
Though no commitment was made to release the names of donors this is the closest to transparent financing any local political party has committed to.
Campaign financing has for at least two elections cycles been a hot button topic with calls for legislation to govern the process but neither of the larger parties has committed to any form of transparency in Campaign financing.
Campaign financing laws, requiring disclosures of donors to parties during an election period and strict record keeping, are seen as pivotal in fighting corruption in countries like Guyana.
In fact the Carter Center, following the 2015 general elections, had recommended that campaign financing legislation be updated and strengthened.
In January 2018, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) had sounded a call for the urgent reformulation of campaign financing legislation, saying that it will not only curb corruption but ensure that democracy reigns.
“Political financing legislation should no longer be withheld from Guyana. The enactment of such laws will deal a significant blow to the scourge of corruption,” TIGI had said in column, published in the Stabroek News.
Months later in May 2018 then Alliance for Change (AFC) Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan had said that his party was actively pursuing the legislation.
He pointed out that deceased founding member of the party, Sheila Holder, was very passionate about getting the legislation drafted and implemented and had “done a lot of work on that score”
“All that work still remains and we support Campaign Financing Legislation, we support it,” he had said but nearly two years later no such legislation has been tabled.
