Dear Editor,
Guyana’s fragile post-election calm in 2006 to 2015 has been revisited by the tumultuous discord of the post 1997 and 2001 elections. In this unfolding situation we are witnessing the degeneration of social cohesion initiated through peacebuilding efforts leading up to the 2006 elections. An independent (UNDP funded) consultants’ post-election 2006 review identified a number of lessons learned, which they felt could be “replicated and/or improved for the future”.
Some of the more compelling pre-2006 election activities they identified, were: peace efforts to facilitate dialogue and 483 citizen engaged in conflict transformation workshops; political parties and media representatives informed and trained on the Racial Hostility and Representation of the People Acts; distribution of 18,600 user-friendly elections procedure manuals with training for GECOM staff and officials and made available in every polling station; the Electoral Assistance Bureau recruited and fielded 1,400 local observers; media personnel and houses signed the Media Code of Conduct; GECOM and donor agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding which was tabled in parliament; political parties signed a Peace Pact and Code of Conduct: recognition of the Private Sector Commission; and preparation of the Joint Services to respond to volatile situations.
On election day GECOM provided timely results and transparency in communicating to the public by publishing counts on a rolling basis. The results were posted continuously by media houses right up to official declaration (in three days) by the CEO. In the immediate post-election period both the local and international observers verified the fairness of the polls and the opposition parties conceded to a gracious winner, who almost immediately reached out to the opposition in a conciliatory way. In the words of the reviewers “Guyanese society at age 40 finds itself in a unique position. On the one hand it attained this marked accomplishment which could signal its coming of age as a fledgling democracy”.
Despite the euphoria in this electoral calm the reviewers were also cognizant that some segments of the population saw the (international sponsored) peace campaign as “the biggest social pacification programme ever attempted in Guyana” aimed at pacifying the opposition while ignoring the shortcomings and provocations of the incumbents. Some, they said, felt the donor community “could have better served Guyanese if implementation of constitutional reforms were leveraged for international support…Otherwise, the risk of another five-years of non-implementation of agreements resulting from the Herdmanston Accord, Constitutional Reforms and other agreements was likely”’
The review also provided some of the recommendations, made by Guyanese and observers who had participated in the pre-election and election day activities, on what was still needed to be done to address underlying concerns and establish a truly democratic society:
1. Social cohesion, especially trust building was seen as the pressing issue and “study” was important and needed in defining, understanding, and educating “trust” (or lack thereof) in the public and private sectors, NGOs, unions, schools, etc. while giving voice to women, youth, civil society, and ethnicities by creating new spaces beyond those currently dominated by politicians, criminals, and business.
2. Social Mitigation, especially with respect to the violence of poverty (sexual, child, spousal abuse); youth education, training, and employment opportunities; and development projects in local communities which engage local residents and youths in a meaningful way.
3. Improve the election process by: fixed date elections every 5 years; increase the number and geographic diversity of GECOM Commissioners -more women, ethnicities, parties, and civil society; non-partisan (e.g. UG) study of elections and train citizens in Elections Management; and legislative action on campaign finances and use of public funds for partisan electioneering.
4. Constitutional and social reform: independent candidates allowed to contest local government elections; parliament prioritising and implementing reforms e.g. National Development Strategy, Sir Davies Report, Bradford Report, Herdmanston Accord, St Lucia Statement and Disciplined Services Report.
5. Legislative reform to develop the broadcast sector.
6. Political parties geared towards national interests rather than organised around ethnic fault lines.
7. Elections with direct selection of representatives would allow for community participation in decisions at the grass-roots level.
In this time of social isolation and election paralysis, Guyanese may be well served to reflect on what got us here, both the positive and the negatives. Two UNDP staff who played a part in the peace initiative identified these 10 values which underlie conflict prevention approaches:
1. the process (election) is as important as the out come (result);
2. public commitment to non-violence by all parties;
3. value-based leadership i.e. non-incendiary vs confrontation election rhetoric;
4. transparency by all: in source of funds, strategies, & post-election distribution of positions;
5. information (credible and verifiable) sharing by all parties and agencies;
6. accountability through citizen engagement with politicians, the process and the outcome;
7. accountability through codes of conduct for key players in the process;
8. inclusion and flexibility in including who participate in dialogue and decisions;
9. collaboration instead of competition i.e. avoiding winner-take-all positions, and
10. justice that is inclusive and fair.
Somewhere along the way we seem to have lost our way. The question for me was: Who dropped the ball? However, in this crisis there is little time for self-indulgent curiosity, instead, maybe we can use this retrospective to assess the current processes and performers. The dangling questions are: Can we get to less fractious elections and equitable democratic governance? and What do we need to do to get there? I suspect most of the answers have been around for 14 years, or more.
Yours faithfully,
Rory Fraser
