This is the third entry in a series on civil society
New NGO, Electoral Reform Group at this stage can only advocate for meaningful dialogue among Government, Opposition and civil society, apart from raising awareness in society about the need for electoral reform, says the group’s coordinator, economist Dr Desmond Thomas.
“At this stage of the Electoral Reform Group’s (ERG) operations, our main focus for electoral reform is dialogue and making people more knowledgeable about how the electoral system works, its strengths and weaknesses. We are not into the idea of making prescriptions at the moment,” Thomas said.
Since the onslaught on civil society which saw President Irfaan Ali calling from Belize while at a CARICOM Heads of Government meeting and questioning the legitimacy of civil society groups and accusing them of selective advocacy in relation to accountability and the Natural Resource Fund, and a number of his ministers following suit, Thomas said, “Government has been kind of acknowledging the need for consultations.”