GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government Friday said it is seeking to amend the amended the Representation of the People Act so as to allow for transparency and fairness in future regional and general elections in the country.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at news conference (CMC Photo)“The Representation of the People’s Act is crucial. So, we made it clear that we have solicited from the public all of the issues that they would like to see amended in the law,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told a news conference.
“The idea is to make more transparent and to define responsibilities in the Act that are unambiguous and thirdly to put in place a set of penalties for people who transgress or try to steal the elections,” Jagdeo said, telling reporters that no elections here would be held with the Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield and other officials are at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Lowenfield and a number of election official have been charged with election fraud emanating from the controversial March 2 regional and general elections last year that Jagdeo’s People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) was declared the winner after a protracted period.
No one has been convicted as a result of the charges against the electoral commission and the main opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (APNU) has filed election petitions challenging the results of the polls.
Jagdeo told reporters he believes “any right-think person” would support the new initiative regarding the amendment to the Representation of the People’s Act.
“That’s the objective. Every person will have a chance to have an input. So, we are soliciting these views (and) eventually there will be a draft, hopefully by the end of June…then that draft will be sent to the international community, all the political parties in Guyana, the civil society and will be up on the website and GECOM too and then people will have three months in Guyana to give their input”.
Jagdeo said the government would be looking at issues “right from registration to the declaration of the results.
“So, everything that is unambiguous, not transparent etc we made it clear….everyone will get a chance,” he said, adding when that is done…a draft bill taking account of the input will be presented to the Parliament where the parliamentary opposition will once again have its input.
“This is an open process,” Jagdeo said, criticizing the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), which he claimed is now a one-man entity,” shedding crocodile tears”.
The APNU+AFC has been clamoring for bipartisan consultations on electoral reforms instead of the United States International Republican Institute (IRI) playing a key role.
