POLITICAL parties contesting the imminent Regional and General Elections will, by Friday, be in possession of a Code of Conduct drafted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), which hopes to engage those political parties sometime next week to address the contents of the Code of Conduct.

GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally, in an invited comment, explained that political parties will have a chance to peruse the document and make recommendations before a final document is published.

He said the Code of Conduct for political parties is a guide of expected behaviours in the lead-up to the May 11 General and Regional Elections.

Once a political party signs onto the Code of Conduct, that party is expected to abide by the protocols documented in the code, all in the interest of free and fair General and Regional Elections.

The General Secretaries of the coalesced parties of A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU + AFC), Joseph Harmon and David Patterson respectively, were unavailable for comment when contacted by this newspaper.

The advantage of having such an agreement in place, according to GECOM, lies in being able to guard against confrontational and vitriolic election campaign meetings/rallies and statements.

Contesting parties signing the Code are viewed as demonstrating their willingness to implement their respective election campaign strategies in ways that contribute to the maintenance of peace and tranquility throughout and beyond the elections.

Rallies and public meetings hosted by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and the coalition of APNU+AFC are in full swing. The two major political parties are expected to hit the campaign trail with greater intensity, this being a mere month away from General and Regional elections. (Vanessa Narine)