On Thursday, on the margins of the conferral of silk on three attorneys at State House, President Ali launched an attack on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC).
Asked about his absence from the ERC’s National Conversation on ethnic relations which was held in conjunction with the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator’s Office and the University of Guyana (UG), the President accused the ERC of “hiding” during the five-month electoral crisis.
“Every single stakeholder in Guyana agrees that democracy was under threat but the ERC did not issue a single statement. The ERC went hiding. The ERC has a responsibility to the country to stand up and to recognize when there is wrong. I did not see this from the ERC”, the President told reporters.
He also cited a lack of consultation by the ERC with his government on the forum.
“We have a Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs (and) not the courtesy (by the ERC) of reaching out (to her). So you know I’ve said I’ve been leading this country in a manner in which I’ve been reaching out, in the manner in which I’ve been consulting and I think all stakeholders need to understand this”, the President added.
He also suggested that the ERC is not functioning properly.
“I am aware that there have been many discussion in the public domain on the functioning of ERC itself with minority reports; disagreement among commissioners. These are things that they have to sort out,” he said.
It was entirely within the province of the President to have decided whether to attend the National Conversation or not though in passing it must be said that non-attendance at a forum on as serious an issue as ethnic relations convened by a constitutional agency and supported by the UN and UG may be another sign that the PPP/C government has no plan to engage in any meaningful dialogue on matters leading up to the reform of the constitution.
What is immediately troubling is the unfounded attack on the ERC. It was not the responsibility of the ERC to address the attempted rigging of the March 2nd general elections. Its primary responsibility as enshrined in the constitution would have revolved around how the attempt to rig the elections might have inflamed ethnic tensions. Even so, the ERC did issue two statements during the election period which reflected an intention to tread carefully in what was a minefield.
The primary responsibility for addressing rigged elections lay with GECOM and it must be held accountable for the fiasco. Having chosen the Chair of GECOM and having three representatives sitting on the body, it was the PPP/C’s own ineffectiveness that contributed in no small measure to the five-month trauma and the President should reflect on his party’s own shortcomings in this matter.
While no constitutional agency should be immune from criticism, such examination should be founded and constructive lest their standing in the eyes of the public be unnecessarily eroded and their effectiveness diminished. Criticism of this sort coming from a member of the public is one thing. Coming from the President and Head of State it comes across as an attempt to browbeat this constitutional agency as if to direct its business. The President would be acutely aware of how the ERC functioned under the long tenure of the PPP/C and how inappropriate such an attack would have been had it come from the then opposition. It is entirely acceptable that the President is concerned with the optimal functioning of the ERC and there are channels through which this could be conveyed such as at last week’s forum.
The President should also be fully engaged in ensuring that other pivotal institutions function effectively and that he himself takes the necessary measures within his mandate to ensure their success. One such body that immediately comes to mind is the Integrity Commission. It remains underfunded and incapable of playing the key anti-corruption role it must play with the advent of the oil and gas economy.
Considering that he remains deeply concerned about the elections imbroglio and the need to ensure that it doesn’t occur again, President Ali has not lived up to his promise to have an elections review established. He gave this solemn commitment at the National Cultural Centre at his inauguration address on August 8th when he stated: “All of us are painfully aware of the trauma and anguish that our people endured over the past five months as vigorous attempts were made to destroy our democratic credentials, and deny the will of the electorate.
“All of us have an obligation to the nation and to ourselves to ensure that never again should any generation of our people be subjected to such unlawful behaviour.
“Therefore, a review of events – related to the electoral process over the last five months – will begin shortly in order to determine, forensically, exactly what transpired, and to hold accountable any persons who sought to pervert and corrupt the system”.
This review could provide answers that the President and the country seeks and may spare constitutional agencies like the ERC from misdirected barbs.
