Dear Editor,
The attempt to rig the 2020 elections in Guyana failed; those charged with intent to defraud the electors of Guyana by declaring a false account of votes for the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections include top GECOM secretariat employees. The system of checks and balances in place for elections in Guyana withstood a test like no other, why then the haste to implement amendments to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) that appear aimed at punishment for fraud with fine/sentence guidelines? How does this improve our electoral system and engender the confidence of the electorate? I would suggest we adopt an alternative to the limited ‘crime and punishment’ approach and look for pragmatic solutions to the issues raised in 2020 and previous elections.
Editor, we are going to have a national recount after the next election: the amendment proposed by the Minister of Legal Affairs speaks to “a clear process and empowering the Chairman of GECOM” I suggest this has not been given enough thought and that we instead plan for a recount eventuality by way of amendment; let me elaborate. We know the system of identification of voters, verification, oversight, and counting of ballots by GECOM officers and party polling agents at the polling stations work, it is watertight and was proven effective during the recount of 2020 so there is no need to change any aspect of what has to be one of the most stringent systems in the world; but we also know that when the Statements of Poll are tabulated nationally, the losing party/parties will inevitably cry foul and demand a recount. We do not need to act surprised and/or wait on CARICOM to broker a recount. I suggest that by way of amendment to the ROPA we can mandate a recount, cater for the transport and storage of ballot boxes (already tabulated and sealed) to a central counting facility (Arthur Chung Conference Centre?) expeditiously, and have all protocols in place, how we count, what regional sequence, all counting agents will have been identified by parties and accredited before the election day, etc.
A careful examination and review of the recount in 2020 will show the lengths Lowenfield et al traveled to slow a process that could have been over in three days to stretch it into months. We can save ourselves weeks and months of delays and ad hoc planning if a mandatory recount is a part of the electoral process. I do not foresee any objections from any political party to an amendment that mandates a recount in a transparent and orderly manner.
Sincerely
Robin Singh
