The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has come out strongly against the US-funded electoral reform process to be implemented by the International Republican Institute (IRI).
In a statement yesterday, the GHRA described the timing of the project as “wrong”, the implementing agency as “unacceptable” and labeled the preparatory work as “having not yet begun”.
Describing itself as being in an unusual position of opposing the reform project, the GHRA in a press release said that it is concerned that “moving forward on this project will not only fail to achieve its goal but will also further postpone the prospects for the future reform that Guyana so badly needs”. The GHRA said that “it remains a wholehearted supporter of electoral reform,” but “electoral reform, like the aftermath of a building ravaged by fire, needs a period of cooling off before sustainable reconstruction can succeed.”