A contentious election law amendment fixing a system for payment of scrutineers was passed last evening with major division among the opposition parties.
Both the governing PPP/C and main opposition PNCR-1G supported the passage of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2009, despite protests by AFC and GAP-ROAR over its failure to adequately give effect to a court ruling that funds for scrutineering activities by the opposition parliamentary parties be allocated on the basis of the number of seats they hold. An amendment proposed by the two small parties was defeated by the PPP/C and the PNCR-1G, which both voted against it before the Bill was taken through the final stages in the National Assembly. During the debate on the Bill, AFC MP Khemraj Ramjattan likened the legislation to a tactic once employed by Forbes Burnham’s PNC government, and he accused the two large parties of collaborating to shut out the small parties-a charge that PNCR leader Robert Corbin vehemently denied. “That is the incestuousness when it comes to public finance in relation to them,” Ramjattan charged.
Robert Corbin
The Bill seeks to amend Section 8 (1) of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act of 2000 by inserting a new subsection that stipulates that the Opposition Leader, after meaningful consultation with other opposition parties in the National Assembly, shall submit the list of scrutineers of the combined opposition to be remunerated. In this vein, it seeks to give effect to a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal, upholding a decision by High Court Judge Jainarine Singh Jr that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) should have allocated monies to the opposition parliamentary parties for scrutineering activities on the basis of the number of seats they held, and not exclusively grant the main opposition party a lump sum for last year’s national house-to-house-registration exercise. The ruling was in the favour of the AFC and GAP-ROAR, which filed a suit challenging an allocation to the PNCR as the combined opposition. AFC MP David Patterson and GAP-ROAR MP Everall Franklin tabled an amendment seeking to have the scheme for payment be determined “on the basis of proportionality” and to ensure that the list of scrutineers be “remunerated proportionately,” but it was voted down by the government and opposition during a division that was called.
Additionally, the Bill proposes a substitute proviso that states that scrutineers for the governing party and the combined opposition shall be paid remuneration, in accordance with an administrative scheme made by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) after it “is satisfied from supporting evidence that the scrutineer has satisfactorily performed his duties.” A minor amendment in the name of PNCR MP Amna Ally and seconded by Corbin-stipulating that “one scrutineer in each category of scrutineers, one in each registration division and one in any subdivision” appointed by the governing party and the combined opposition would be remunerated-was passed with the support of the government.
Attorney General Charles Ramson explained that the intent of the Bill is in the spirit of the judgment secured by AFC and GAP, whom he referred to as “mini minority parties” on the opposition benches. However, Ramson, who said he had great difficulty understanding how the judge arrived at his decision, made it clear that government sought to accommodate the judgement without embracing the “pro rata” formula for payment to scrutineers. Arguing that the judgement created more confusion than the original legislation contained, he said the Bill would “lend clarity” to what was intended and provide an administrative structure. He emphasised that parties do not receive money for not scrutineering, while saying the discretion with respect to payment would lie with GECOM and not the judge.
Ramjattan, however, decried the Bill, calling it a complete misrepresentation of the rulings by the courts, since it was not ensuring allocation on the basis of proportionality. He further added that the Bill proposed an arrangement much worse than what was in law to begin with, expressing scepticism about the Leader of the Opposition having to submit the list of scrutineers. He accused the government of seeking to reverse the judgement by enacting statute, recalling similar tactics by the Burnham government in the 1980s. “This is not in the spirit of the court of appeal decision at all,” he said. “It is a rule of thumb that when the PPP and the PNC come together… they want to ensure that there will be a sharing of this pie between themselves to the exclusion of the Alliance For Change,” he added later.
Meanwhile, Corbin supported the Bill, noting that it sought to regularise an arrangement that had been working very smoothly until last year. Saying the AFC had been providing misinformation, he sought to set the record straight on the issue of funds for scrutineering, noting that he had maintained his silence on the issue. He explained that there had been talks between the opposition parties in which the AFC had undertaken to submit a list of its representatives. However, it never materialised. While the AFC and GAP-ROAR pursued the issue in the court, to ensure there was sufficient representation the PNCR ensured that scrutineering vacancies were filled, Corbin said. “It is not a matter that can be settled by a court or by the elections commission,” he explained, “It involves political parties… collaborating and working out the logistics of what is in the best interests of everyone.”
Corbin also emphasised that the PNCR has always sought collaboration and meaningful consultation on all issues with the other parliamentary opposition parties. He, however, refused to support the AFC amendment, saying he found it difficult after having dealt with so much “bad faith” on the issue.
Is corbin saying that the courts in Guyana do not work in the interest of Guyanese.
The court actually ruled that the money should be divided equally and fairly to all parties but JAgdeo and Corbin ignored the courts ruling hatched up their own backroom plan and excluded all the other parties in parliament.
This is why Guyana has a crime spree that is spiralling down the road to a massive explosion. What is wrong with the court’s decision? Why is it contemptuously cast aside? ‘The government SOUGHT to accomodate…’ my foot!
mmmm mmmmm i told yall so many times dat there are only two ploitical parties in guyana….both with massive support base…de pee pee pee will win all and every election no matter what de nay sayers say…have you ever wonder how de pee nc used to get 70 to 85% of all votes cast?
i done tell yall already de april fool comedians afc will not get squat next election because ramjhattan will be head man..you tink dem pee nc supporters who switched last election will vote for ramjhattan? dream dream dream
amen
Pee Peed Poo and P Hen C both losing ground daily to the AFC, the AFC registration rolls have never been busier and the amount of people asking how they can help has never been this aggressive before.
I can guarantee you that with all the backroom dealings between the PNC and the PPP to do to the AFC what they did to Walter Rodney and the WPA will fail. The AFC has gotten its message across clearly and there is a groundswell of support for its opposition to these two horrible parties.
That is called POLLY-TIKKIN. They are just wasting taxpayers time and money & stop playing as though they are the big fishes. They are servants to the people, not a law onto themselves.
There is no difference between the PNC and the PPP, none whatsoever.
Corbin will go down in history as a national disgrace.
I hope in the next elections, the least the Guyanese people should do, is make the AFC the main opposition and then have a real opposition at last. Let Corbin be his own paper tiger.
Couldnt agree with you more GAP1, people in this country need to realize that.
The PPP and the PNC are in cahoots to rule together.
When PNC hollaring about share governance that is just a sham.
What happen wid Corbin plans to get clico investigated? You see anything happening with that? hell no.
The PNC and the PPP have created a sham of the political system, this is why the AFC has become so important to the future of Guyana.
gap1 dont try to attach my blog name with corbin, tigers are go getters and winners (like myself) unlike corbin, he might as well join with the Punishing Poor People party.
Got yuh!
tiger
sure u nat a tamil tiger? ehehehehehe
is de same poor people party dat created your pee nc coz if jagan didnt string along banum u will have never heard of forbes banum…so u should thank de poor people party fuh yuh pee nc….
“The scheme for payment be determined “on the basis of proportionality” and to ensure that the list of scrutineers be “remunerated proportionately”,…that parties do not receive money for not scrutineering” Look at these two excerpts bloggers. Can you see the first making way for the second? What prevents these parties from receiving money and not doing the job? The money was and is to be paid to the Opposition. It is the responsibility of the parties making up the opposition to work out the logistics, which by the way they have failed to do. AFC and GAP-ROAR want each party to be dealt with individually in a context where we have an Office of the Leader of the Opposition. This office allows for collaboration among all opposition parties However, there is failure to do so, hence, the cry for individual proportional treatment. Going the route will treat the opposition as being three entities rather that one with a leader. When we speak of consultation with the opposition who would we be talking about? The opposition parties need to get their act together if they are going to make an impact in our society. So far all we have is a fight over who should share in the soup and how much should each get. As long as each gets, it peace and safety in the land. Yes, navyseal it is call polly-tikkin!
So who should trust that Corbin gets the money and be fair to the other opposition parties? I’ll tell you who, someone mentally retarted. Get their act together, my foot! Whenever does that ever happen in Guyana?????!!!!!
The court ruled on it and so it should have been but it seems that the PPP/PNC “branch of this govt,” has appointed themselves, judge, jury and executioner.
Who doesn’t want to smell the rat on this one has a severe case of the Ostrich Virus Syndrome, one side of them has their heads planted firmly in the sand and they are definitely seeing with the “other side of the Ostrich”
Go figure!
Good question, gap1. Therein lies the problem. Can you see the unfortunate situation we have in the opposition? We have a divided opposition which augurs well for the governing party. Pit all of them together and they are not a hurdle for the PPP government. Don’t you think they have not realised it, they do. It all boils down to getting as much of the pie as one can.
I’m by no means an expert in these matters… but what I see wrong with this picture is that the political parties have too much influence over the process.
What we need is an independent, well funded and well run Elections Commission in which the people and the political parties could put their trust.
We do not need that Commission to be dealing with National Registration and the issue of National ID cards – we just cannot wait until elections time for this. People need to go about their business and therefore this should be in an agency such as the agencies which handle birth certificates and passports.
I find the PNC’s reasoning to be lacking in logic and substance.the other two political parties,AFC/ROAR,are legitimate political parties.This is due to the fact that people have voted for them.so they have a moral right to get their own resouces from the state with regards to elections in order to look after their supporters interests.The issue of not doing work for money is the business of GECOM and those parties to resolve.GECOM can resort to the courts in such cases.I am terribly surprised at the PNC to behave like if they have a monopoly on resources and space allocated for opposition politics.One is forced to conclude that this is a case of vendetta politics against the minor parties,especially against AFC.That is one of the reasons why the PNC has become so useless.
The PHENC and the PPP have a vested interest to collude and keep other players out of the political scene, as much as they claim they hate each other they love each other.
Don’t you see how jagdeo has embraced all of Burnhams institutions and policies such as the 1980 constitution?