…Government makes amendments
GOVERNMENT Members of Parliament used their majority in the National Assembly yesterday to send to Special Select Committee, an Alliance For Change (AFC) Motion calling for Government to pass laws and regulations pertaining to political party campaign financing. Further, the members on the Government side voted to adopt a number of amendments prior to the sending of the Motion for further consideration.
Among the key amendments is the removal of a Further Resolve Clause which, inter alia, called for the curtailing of “abuse of public resources by the incumbent leading up to elections as recommended by the Commonwealth Secretariat in order to create a level playing field for contesting parties at elections in Guyana.”
That clause was replaced by a new Resolve Clause which stated that the National Assembly approves the establishment of a Special Select Committee to examine the existing laws and regulations regarding political parties electoral expenses, examine legislation in other countries in relation to political party campaign financing and report its findings and recommendations to the National Assembly’s consideration.
Speaking on the Motion that she introduced to the National Assembly since October last year, AFC Member, Ms. Sheila Holder, said that while laws governing campaign contributions are on the books, they were generally considered in need for updating. She noted that Guyana has committed to several international instruments and mandates for addressing issues of political party and campaign financing, among these the Declaration of Commitment in Port of Spain at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago; Article 5 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and Article 7 Section 3 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
However, PPP stalwart and Presidential Advisor on Governance, Ms Gail Teixeira, said the Commonwealth Secretariat never recommended anything to do with ‘curtailing of abuses’ and it is for this reason that the Government side opted to take out that clause.
Holder said that lack of the respective controls could lead to the improper use of state resources and collection of large campaign donations from special interests. She asked why Government would be reluctant to support the Motion.
“It can lend to corruption or vote buying,” Holder posited.
She added that it was an abuse of power for the PPP/C Presidential Candidate Mr. Donald Ramotar to be travelling around the country on Cabinet outreaches and on overseas visits with President Bharrat Jagdeo.
However, Teixeira defended Government’s actions concerning Ramotar, saying that the President has the prerogative to call anyone to be a part of the Cabinet outreaches, which are Cabinet sessions ‘in-situ’ (in position).
Gail Teixeira said, “People should not simplify the issues of political party financing and campaign financing. Let us sit together and look at the various models. There are about four basic models used in various permutations in various countries around the world. There is no panacea, no magic bullet [regarding this].”
Rising to speak on the Motion, Minister of Labour Mr. Manzoor Nadir said the Motion had in it elements that the PPP and his own party, The United Force, subscribe to. “But they don’t know the difference between election expenses versus campaign financing,” Nadir said of the promulgators of the Motion.
“We need to get down to a very serious analysis on campaign financing. I am not convinced that money wins an election. We are not oblivious to the conventions signed. We signed them because we are serious about compliance with them, transparency and good governance,” Nadir declared.
He added that if the campaign is sincere and the cause is just, then the right party would emerge victorious at the polls.
Nadir also said there are very few countries in the world that give direct money to political parties. “This is a serious issue that requires us to sit and bring all the good examples from all over the world and let us come up with a system that is fair,” he said.
Basil Williams of the PNCR, in rising to speak on the Motion, said the party has long been interested in putting campaign financing on a proper legal footing.
“The Motion is apposite and comes because the ruling party has made no effort in this regard,” he said. He called the provisions of the Motion revolutionary and noted that the PNCR wanted those provisions to be operational in Guyana.
Speaking on the Motion, PPP/C’s Anil Nandlall asked how it was that persons would want to term Cabinet outreaches as campaign financing.
“The people of this country are not stupid. They are the recipients of goods and services that the Government has provided. That has nothing to do with campaign financing,” Nandlall argued.
“We are a sovereign nation; we cannot slavishly follow the practices of other countries. We have to see how the concept can be adjusted and altered to suit the Guyana situation,” he said as justification for sending the Motion to a Select Committee.
Nandlall said in the Caricom region the question of campaign financing is unregulated and has no legal imprimatur. He described the arguments put forward by the opposition as “unsubstantiated rhetoric.”
“The Motion embraces vital concepts which we recognise but we do not support some of the clauses,” he said.
AFC Presidential Candidate Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan feels sending in the select committee will cause the Motion to die a natural death.