GENERAL Secretary of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on Friday said that his party is committed to supporting campaign financing reform.

However, he voiced concerns about donors being publicly registered, as this could open up entities to harassment and intimidation.

Speaking at his weekly press conference at Freedom House, Dr. Jagdeo, during his opening statement, spoke about the meetings he has had with the European Union (EU)’s electoral delegation that is currently in Guyana assessing the progress made with the electoral recommendations that were made in 2020, by a European Observation Mission that appraised Guyana’s General and Regional Elections that year.

At a press conference a day earlier, members of the EU delegation, which includes European Parliamentarian Javier Nart; Electoral Analyst Alexander Matus; and Legal Expert Anne Marlborough noted that among the concerns about Guyana’s electoral systems is the need for campaign financing limitations and disclosure.

Dr. Jagdeo on Friday reminded his audience that it was the PPP/C that first raised concerns about campaign financing, and even included provisions for this in their 2020 Manifesto.

“If you go to our Manifesto, you would see we’re probably the only party that said that; long before the EU made a recommendation about that, it was in our Manifesto,” Dr. Jagdeo said, adding:
“We do share the view and concern that big money can alter the results of elections. And that is why we are committed to exploring campaign financing reform in this period; and we put that in our Manifesto. We are committed to ensuring that big money, especially oil resources, do not influence elections here in Guyana.”

As it pertains to the victimisation that businesses have faced in the past, often fueled by the instigation coming from supporters of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest party in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr. Jagdeo noted that there were reservations about there being a public register where the identities of those persons are disclosed.

“From the moment a person says I’ve given even $100 to the PPP, and their name is on a public register of every person who donates, APNU will turn up in front of their business and boycott their operations,” Dr. Jagdeo related.

During Guyana’s 2011 elections, APNU called for boycotts against several businesses owned by Afro-Guyanese and other persons who visibly supported the PPP/C during those elections.

As it pertains to financing limitations and challenges that smaller parties face in competing in the political landscape, Dr. Jagdeo said parties should be able to go out and generate enough support to garner finances.

“[In the 2020 elections] some of the small parties couldn’t even muster 2,000 votes. How could you compare campaign finance with the major parties which have 200,000 odd supporters? It’s natural that [the bigger parties] will run bigger campaigns. Our job as political parties is not to ensure every single party has equal financing. You have to raise finances on the basis of your policymaking and whether people find you attractive or not,” Dr. Jagdeo reasoned.