Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Dr Nicole Giles has urged the PPP/C to take up its seats in parliament and says the country must move swiftly towards electoral reforms and addressing matters such as the use of state resources during elections.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek News, the High Commissioner also issued a strong call for the new government to hold the long overdue local government elections by the end of the year. Once this is done, she said, Canada would be looking at working with other donors to see what kind of support can be offered in this area.
Moves towards electoral reforms, according to Giles, will remain a challenge but they need to be taken urgently in the post-election period and she suggested a six-month window period “before everybody forgets what happened in May 2015 and then you find yourself in the exact same situation five years from now.”
Giles, who was accredited here in September 2013, said “one of the challenges is going to be to get that package together quickly and moved through before memories of May 2015 become faint.”
After witnessing the country’s divisive elections with the previous party in government—the PPP/C—charging that the May 11 polls was rigged, Giles said that her country would call for reforms in the use of state resources during the electoral campaign and holding political parties to the code of conduct.
While in government, the PPP/C was repeatedly accused of dominating the state media and using its radio, television and newspaper for campaign purposes while locking out the opposition parties from equal access to these entities.
“There are very few rules and regulations much less legislation on this in Guyana and I think it muddies the waters and makes for an unfair playing field for all stakeholders,” Giles pointed out during an interview on Thursday with the Stabroek News at the High Commission on Young Street.
According to Giles there are a lot of lessons learnt from the last elections and since then she has been trying to encourage a strong electoral package that covers key areas of concerns for Canada.
At the top of that list is the introduction of legislation on the use of state resources in the electoral process.
Also, the High Commissioner said she is concerned that while media owners sign an electoral code of conduct there was little mechanism for enforcement.
For example she said licences are not linked to abiding by that code and as such she suggests legislation, guidelines or regulatory instruments that would bind media houses to ensure that there is equitable access – paid and unpaid – for parties (advertising and coverage).
She said there is need for stronger enforcement measures and mechanisms for the implementation of the existing legislation and regulations.
“It is clear that there is some sort of need for enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the code for political parties that is signed is implemented and similarly the code of conduct for the media that is signed is implemented,” Giles said.
Expeditious
Another area of concern for Canada is the length of time it takes for elections petitions to be heard. The High Commissioner pointed out that it is fair to assume that the PPP/C would be filing such a petition and her country would urge its expeditious hearing.
“We would very strongly urge the expeditious hearing of that petition,” she said adding that she is aware that some petitions take four or five years or longer to be heard.
“Quite frankly in any democracy that is unacceptable, I would like to see stronger confidence… [in] the electoral mechanisms that the constitution provides for. I think that would soften and lower the stakes somewhat and allow for greater confidence in the system,” she said.
She said such a petition should be heard in weeks and not in months and certainly not in years.
And speaking to the PPP/C’s boycott of the National Assembly—the party is yet to name its MPs and did not have a presence at the inauguration of the 11th Parliament on Wednesday last—Giles said it is important that all stakeholders participate in the governance of the country including by taking up the seats they are elected to in Parliament and to use them to encourage debate on issues of national interest.
“There is an obligation to represent the people that voted for you and also there is a very strong and important role for the opposition to play in holding the new government accountable. That’s why Parliament is there and they can hold the new government accountable through constructive engagement in the National Assembly,” the High Commissioner said.
She argued that in many countries it has been demonstrated that strong opposition equals strong government.
The High Commis-sioner said it is also accepted that there is need for improvement in the tabulation of the votes pointing out that Canada has been trying to work with Guyana to introduce electronic ballot scanning and tabulation machines. While this would still leave the country with a paper-based voting system, Giles said the ballot would be scanned by a machine that would be on top of the ballot box allowing for the electronic tabulation of the votes. It would still produce a paper statement of poll that would be pasted outside the polling station but the key thing, according to Giles, is that it would return rapid results.
She said Canada is currently in discussion with the Guyana Elections Commission, the government and other stakeholders to ascertain whether it is an offer they would be interested in. This would be provided through the Delian Project, an independent, non-profit organisation registered in North America, which is dedicated to using technology to improve elections management.
Reconciliation
Asked about the key challenges Guyana faces, Giles said for her it is reconciliation. She suggested a genuine concerted national effort to develop a “shared narrative” on the country’s post 1960s history which helps the country to move forward and puts some of the divisions behind it.
“That is an easy word to say but a very difficult thing to do and will require quite a bit of thought and quite a bit of effort from all stakeholders,” she said.
