We need a national dialogue on electoral reform that puts citizens at heart of process

Dear Editor,

Guyana’s entire post-Independence history has been characterized by political crisis after political crisis.  These have held back the country’s development. The situation peaked after the March 2, 2020 elections.  Almost 8 months later, we are still in a political crisis, with social underpinnings.

The winners of our elections tend to take all, and are decidedly uncooperative in the process, notwithstanding our national motto. The start of oil production raises the stakes on control of state power, thereby aggravating political tensions.

Comprehensive long-term reform, such as will produce different political outcomes and improve the prospects for rising living standards and sustainable growth, is urgently required.

Successive analyses of political conditions in Guyana, including election observer reports going back decades, have confirmed the systematic absence of comprehensive social and political dialogue.  This democratic deficit has led to an accumulation of historical hurts and habitual political non-cooperation. The absence of a tradition of social and political dialogue and concomitant public attitudes of resignation and skepticism about the possibility of change have become the most significant of Guyana’s challenges.

Electoral reform continues to be posited as the best first step toward needed political transformation because of its potential to have immediate impact while also influencing the behaviour of politicians and citizens over the long-term.

We the undersigned are interested in contributing to the solution, and invite other Guyanese, living anywhere, to join. You can email our point of contact, Sara Bharrat, at sarabharrat@gmail.com under the subject “Electoral Reform for Guyana”.

We were encouraged by the healthy responses to the letter (SN October 11, 2020) by some of us. The comments displayed reasonableness, reflected a civility of discourse, and demonstrated that we can have a productive exchange of views even when we disagree. In the same vein, the comments were non-partisan and seemed motivated solely by national development goals.

An ability to engage each other constructively is the first, necessary step toward a successful process of reform. It is vitally important that electoral reform be based on civil discourse, without which Article 13 of our constitution cannot be operationalized.  That Article states:

The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organizations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.

In the electoral reform process, therefore, citizens have a major role to play alongside political parties. Success will depend on vigorous representations by both civil society and political forces in a climate of cooperation and commitment to political transformation.

Achieving this requires the articulation of public interests built on a commitment to political cooperation and trust.

The lack of data on public perception of the issues and decades of distrust among key stakeholders will be key challenges to address. So, while we welcome recent commitments by the President and Opposition Leader to constitutional and electoral reform, we also hope to see them commit to cooperation and to engaging civil society in identifying problems, recommending solutions, drafting legislation, monitoring and evaluating the implementation of reforms, and sustaining transformation of current electoral laws, regulations, administrative arrangements, and processes.

In this vein, we recommend a national dialogue on electoral reform that puts citizens at the heart of the process. The focus should be on reform of those aspects of the electoral system that contribute to political crisis and our lagging development.    Such a national dialogue should benefit from transparency and inclusion in both the design and implementation of the dialogue.

We stand ready to support this urgently needed dialogue.

Yours faithfully,

Sara Bharrat

Alfred Bhulai

Kerry Anne Cort-

Kansinally

Rene Edwards

Rory Fraser

Lawrence Lachmansingh

David Singh

Desmond Thomas

Troy Thomas