THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has responded to the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC)’s draft Code of Conduct for political parties contesting the upcoming General and Regional Elections.

The PPP sought to clear the air on its response to the ERC, after the commission told the media that only one party had responded to its draft Code of Conduct. Eleven parties have been given the green light by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to contest the elections.

According to the PPP in a press statement, they had responded to the ERC and even included their proposals for inclusion in the Code of Conduct. The PPP said the letter was delivered to the ERC on January 9, 2020 and a receipt was issued by the commission to the party.

ERC Chairman, Reverend John Smith said, commissioners of the ERC during interactions with the various political parties contesting the upcoming polls, had proposed the signing of a Code of Conduct.

Stabroek News reported on Saturday that a draft code of conduct was subsequently distributed to the parties for their inputs but to date the commission had received only one response. According to the Stabroek News report, while the name of the party was not disclosed, on his Facebook page, Executive Member of the Citizenship Initiative (TCI), Ruel Johnson said his party had responded to the ERC’s proposal.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the ERC has warned political parties contesting the 2020 General and Regional Elections against being “mechanisms for division” because in the worst case, this could see them being charged and placed before the courts.
“As the campaigns for the various political parties continue in the run-up to the March 2, General and Regional Elections, the Ethnic Relations Commission remains concerned over reported incidents of intimidation and abuse meted out to party officials while they were engaged in activities to sensitise on political messages reflective of the parties they represent.

“The commission is also concerned about the use of language that can be considered as combative and disrespectful to the point of even being threatening in some instances…the call for the upcoming elections to be transparent, free of hate, violence and racial or any other forms of incitement, is firmly reiterated,” said Reverend Smith.
He reminded the general public that the freedoms enshrined within the country’s Constitution allow each Guyanese the democratic right to freely associate with a political party of his/her choice.

Ahead of the elections, the ERC has deployed its Monitoring Unit which will be closely monitoring the media and will go as far as to attend public meetings. The commission has also asked parties to sign on to a Code of Conduct set to guide their behaviour.