Dear Editor,
I write to appeal to the leaders of all of our new/small parties to recognize that they have a glorious opportunity to make history in our country. With the realization that our current elections law permits parties to inform the Guyana Elections Commission of their intention to join their list for the purpose of seats allocation in the National Assembly, I beg the leaders to put Guyana first. Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act states, “Subject to subsection (2), two or more lists of candidates shall be joined for the distribution of seats (but not for the purpose of voting) if the representative and deputy representative of each list to be so joined gives notice accordingly in writing to the Chief Election Officer not later than the 25th day before election day; and the list so joined are hereinafter referred to collectively as a combination of lists.” Subsection 3 states, “The Commission shall cause a notification of combinations of lists to be published not later than the 23rd day before election day in the Gazette and may cause such further publication of the same, for the information of electors, as the Commission considers desirable”.
The Guyana Elections Commission is misleading the political parties and the public that the time for any joint list has passed. The actual day to inform the Chief Election Officer for the 2020 General and Regional Elections is February 6th, 2020 (discounting election day – March 2nd). I am recommending that the list submitted by ANUG/JLP/TNM be rescinded, and a joiner list of all the small/new parties be presented.
I have done some analysis of past elections, and wish to share its findings with the electorate, but more importantly, the leaders of the new/small parties. Our country is in dire need of a new direction, and the government and main opposition are both incapable of taking us there. With the injection of these dynamic new/small parties in our political landscape, hope is on the way.
2001 elections
The PPP/C won the elections with 209,754 and securing 34 seats in the National Assembly. The combined new/small parties would have secured the same 4 seats as reported by the Elections Commission, but there was a possibility that more votes for these parties could have been realized, if the voters were informed that their votes would have been combined for the allocation of seats. Had this occurred, the PPP/C would have won the Presidency with the largest number of votes, but they most likely would have been a minority government.
2006 elections
In the 2006 elections, the results would definitely have resulted in a minority government, had the new/small parties contesting the elections invoked section 22 of the Representation of the People Act.
2006 elections Geographic elections
The PPP/C won 36 seats in this election which was made up of 15 Geographic seats and 21 Top-up seats. An analysis of the results revealed the following:
1. The combined votes of the small parties in Region 1 would have given them 1 seat. The seats were allocated 1 each for the PPP/C and the PNC/IG.
2. The result for Region 7 showed that the combined small parties accumulated 1,834 votes as against PNC/IG with 1,958. The difference of 124 votes could have gone to the combined small parties, thus winning another seat.
3. Region 8 was won by the PPP/C, but the combined small parties easily won that seat.
4. Region 9 was won by the PPP/C, but the combined small parties also won this seat.
5. Region 10 seats were won by PNC/IG (2 seats) and the PPP/C (1 seat). The combined small parties won this seat easily from the PPP/C.
With an additional Top-up seat for the combined small parties, the PPP/C would have won 32 seats, hence a minority government. The writing would have been on the wall for the PPP/C.
2011 elections
In these elections, the PPP/C won 32 seats, APNU won 26 seats and the AFC won 7 seats. With a minority government, parliament was able to put some check on the excessive of the PPP/C government.
2015 elections
In these elections, the APNU+AFC ticket won 33 seats in the National Assembly. However, an analysis of Region 8 gives some interesting information:
Had the PPP/C and TUF triggered a joiner list, this combination would have given that seat to them.
It is very surprising that Manzoor Nadir, who was on the PPP/C list did not trigger this electoral joiner. Had they done that, the TUF could have claimed the seat in the National Assembly with 48 votes. How interesting.
Conclusion
Now that we have an analysis of the actual votes in previous elections, I am calling on all the small/new parties to trigger section 22 of the Representation of the People Act and inform the Guyana Elections Commission. If history has any bearing on our voting practice, it would seem beneficial for all the small/new parties to grasp this opportunity.
My prediction on a joiner list of the new/small parties would result in the following:
There are top-up seats that will also be secured in the General Elections. It seems likely, therefore, that a joiner list of all the small/new parties could secure 10 seats in the National Assembly.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please put aside your egos and put Guyana first. As the maxim goes, “the whole is greater than the number of its parts”.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sugrim, CPA
