THE cornerstone of the foundation of democratic governance in a representative democracy such as Guyana is the regular renewal of the group of persons who represent the people.
That renewal occurs by means of transparent, impartial, professionally conducted, and credible elections. In Guyana, the electoral process begins with the preparation, finalisation, and publication of an Official List of Electors (OLE) commonly known as the “voters list.” Considering the fact that the OLE constitutes the starting point from which all subsequent electoral activities follow, it is essential that the OLE be above question, transparently compiled, and demonstrably accurate. Equally important, that list must be perceived to be flawless by the Guyanese people, so as to ensure that the outcome of elections is not only unquestioned, but is unquestionable.

In 2012, it was agreed by stakeholders that house-to-house registration will be conducted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) every seven years. That exercise, in tandem with the continuous registration of voters, is intended to ensure that the OLE is unquestionably accurate. It must be noted that all exercises related to ensuring the accuracy of the OLE, as well as all other matters pertaining to the conduct of elections, are the sole responsibility of GECOM. Article 62 of the Constitution stipulates that “Elections shall be independently supervised by the Elections Commission in accordance with the provisions of Article 162. Article 162 sets out, in detail, the responsibilities and powers of the Commission. In other words, Article 162 sets out the ambit of GECOM, while Article 62 forbids anyone from interfering in the work of the Commission.

Another important aspect of the foundation of democratic governance is adherence to the rule of law. The APNU+AFC coalition administration has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to that principle. Therefore, government’s position that it will not, and cannot, interfere in the work of GECOM, being consistent with that principled commitment, is expected and should be applauded. Unfortunately, on the other hand, the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) continues to flout the supreme law of the land– the Constitution– by continually and persistently endeavouring to encroach into the exclusive domain of GECOM.

Following the no-confidence vote against the government on December 21 of last year, the PPP/C began its campaign of intrusion into the constitutionally-mandated independent work of the Elections Commission. GECOM had announced that it is unprepared to hold general and regional elections within 90 days of the vote. The Commission subsequently explained that the seven-year life of the current OLE will come to an end on April 30, 2019, some six weeks after the 90-day period prescribed by Article 106 (7). The expiration of the validity of the OLE, said GECOM, necessitated a new round of house-to-house registration so as to ensure the integrity of the OLE — the instrument which lies at the heart of elections.
The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and other officials of the PPP/C advanced multiple spurious theories, claims, and arguments in support of their party’s indefensible position that house-to-house registration was unnecessary or undesirable. Officers of the PPP/C even went down to the unbelievable depth of accusing the Commission of plotting to rig any upcoming general elections through house-to-house registration. In March 2019, Mr. Jagdeo claimed, without a shred of evidence, that GECOM and the coalition government were conspiring with each other to remove at least 10 persons at each polling station in PPP/C strongholds which would result in a loss of about 20,000 votes for the PPP/C. Mr. Jagdeo said too, that GECOM would register persons who support the APNU+AFC coalition multiple times, abandon fingerprint cross-matching, and add foreigners to the OLE who would then be issued with fake Guyana birth certificates, allowing them to obtain Guyanese ID cards for the purpose of voting. Of course, Jagdeo’s claims and accusations, as was the case with his no-confidence motion and subsequent vote, had no merit. And, as was expected, intelligent Guyanese simply ignored them. In spite of Mr. Jagdeo’s credibility being constantly questioned as a result of his insupportable utterances, he continues to attack GECOM in an attempt to discredit the Commission, and otherwise influence its work in defiance of the Constitution.

The Office of Leader of the Opposition is an important constitutional institution. In the wider definition of ‘government’ the political opposition is considered part of the country’s governing structure. The opposition is expected to uphold the rule of law, respect the sanctity of the Constitution, and conduct itself in a manner befitting its stature. Logically, citizens may expect that the opposition would desire to have a clean OLE. One would hope that Mr. Jagdeo upholds those reasonable expectations.