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EU releases damning elections observer report… GECOM accused of acting in blatant violation of the law

With just estimated days left before the end of the recount exercise, the European Union Observer Mission yesterday released a damning final report that had condemnations for the Guyana Election Commission post-poll behaviour, mixed reviews of the behaviour of other players, but commendation on the reporting by independent dailies Kaieteur News and Stabroek News.
The opening paragraph of the summary goes straight into what expands into a 64-page scathing critique of certain aspects of the process.
“The 2 March general and regional elections took place in a deeply polarised environment” the report begins, “Legal uncertainty, unregulated political finance, biased state media and lack of transparency in the administration of elections characterised the pre-election context, but overall the elections were competitive and contestants could campaign freely. Voting, counting and the tabulation of results in nine of Guyana’s ten regions were generally well managed. However, the integrity of the entire electoral process was seriously compromised by the non-transparent and non-credible tabulation of results in the largest and decisive Region 4 by senior Guyana Elections Commission officials, acting in blatant violation of the law and High Court orders issued in this regard.”
Proving a background into the events leading up to the elections, including the No Confidence Vote and the subsequent legal battle, the report places ultimate blame for the current impasse squarely at the feet of GECOM.

“By failing to take decisive action,” the report notes, “as the electoral process derailed into chaos and illegality, GECOM abdicated its constitutional duty to take all actions necessary to ensure compliance with the law by any of its officials, despite unequivocal powers to remove and exercise disciplinary control over them.”

The report notes that the elections were ethnically polarized with APNU+AFC primarily representing Afro-Guyanese and the PPP primarily representing Indo-Guyanese. The report noted that both major political groupings had significant funds at their disposal with no concern for campaign finance transparency with the implicit go ahead from GECOM.

“With consent of the main contenders,” the report noted, “GECOM did not assume its oversight responsibility to monitor campaign finance. Several parties spoke out for enhancing finance regulations, underlining the need for reforms in this field.”

While the report noted considerable bias in both the privately owned Guyana Times, which favoured the PPP, the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, it observed that “Stabroek News and Kaieteur News proved to be rather balanced in their news coverage.”
The report provided a total of 26 detailed recommendations for electoral reform, with eight listed as priority.

European Union, Fernando Ponz-Canto, (right) hands over a copy of the European Union Observer Mission Final Report to Justice (retired) Claudette Singh, Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission.

Sidebar
Below are the eight priority recommendations coming out of the EU Observer Mission Report.

1. Review and consolidate the fragmented election legislation to strengthen legal clarity and certainty.

2. Launch a national consultation process to overhaul the composition and functioning of the Elections Commission, notably to ensure a more inclusive representation of the various components of the Guyanese society and political spectrum.

3. Develop, in a consultative process, effective legislation to regulate political finance, taking the principles of equality, transparency and accountability into account. Such legislation could pro-vide transparency in campaign incomes and establish reasonable limits for campaign expenditure as well as disclosure and reporting requirements and effective sanctions. Consideration may also be given to the establishment of an independent oversight body.

4. Introduce a legal and regulatory system that transforms the state-owned media into a genuine public service broadcaster. This includes provisions granting editorial independence, financial autonomy, clear separation from any government institution, and an open and competitive selection process of its board members.

5. To foster transparency and accountability in online and offline campaigning, policymakers could consider introducing detailed reporting requirements for those who paid for sponsored materials as well as for those who received payments. In order to enable voters to easily distinguish between paid advertising and other information, any sponsored campaign-related material should be clearly labelled to indicate who paid for it.

6. Adopt clear written procedures for the transmission and tabulation of election results, notably to ensure consistency of the process in all regions, adequate traceability of handed over electoral documents, and possibility for all authorised stakeholders to examine SOPs as required by law.

7. Incorporate into law the obligation to accompany any declaration of results by simultaneous publication of detailed polling station results and digital copies of all SOPs. In addition to the number of valid votes cast for each candidate list, these detailed results should also include all elements of electoral accounting to allow control of their coherence, such as number of registered voters; voters who voted; rejected ballots; spoiled ballots; etc.

8. Establish comprehensive election dispute resolution system to ensure effective and timely remedies throughout all stages of the electoral process.

Source:

 

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Those recommendations will fall on deaf ears.

The results are showing  how Guyana is so much divided along racial lines. Neither the PPP nor the Coalition are interested in healing the great race divide. 

Mitwah
Last edited by Mitwah
@Mitwah posted:

Those recommendations will fall on deaf ears. The results are Guyana is so much divided along racial lines. Neither the PPP nor the Coalition are interested in healing the great race divide. 

Nothing but the truth.

Django
@Django posted:

The PPP can fix all of the recommendations in 20 yrs ,they have the know how , by that time oil well dried up ,they and their cohorts bank book overflowing.

Is that got you so basidy?  Harmon promised yuh lil baksish?

FM
@Mitwah posted:

Those recommendations will fall on deaf ears.

The results are showing  how Guyana is so much divided along racial lines. Neither the PPP nor the Coalition are interested in healing the great race divide. 

Nah, the two parties will always have a traditional race based base.  However, neither can hope to win on that.  The PPP clearly pulled in a cross section to win. In sure the international community must have noticed.

The Coalition could not even name a PM candidate because the choice was an Indian. So get out of your bias and see where racism really lies. Black racism is worse than white racism.

FM
@Django posted:

Read what Mits said,hence my reply.

The truth will come to light after the PPPC takes over and discovers the damage done by the dictatorship of the Granger thugs.
Change can only come from both parties agreeing to a common goal. We have seen in the past the PNC would not agree on anything the PPP proposes. Let's see how they behave. People like Grainjaw, Basil, Amna, Goadyman Joe, Alexander, and the rest of the fraudsters need to take a hike.

FM
@Former Member posted:

The truth will come to light after the PPPC takes over and discovers the damage done by the dictatorship of the Granger thugs.
Change can only come from both parties agreeing to a common goal. We have seen in the past the PNC would not agree on anything the PPP proposes. Let's see how they behave. People like Grainjaw, Basil, Amna, Goadyman Joe, Alexander, and the rest of the fraudsters need to take a hike.

What was preventing the PPP to fix the system ? they were there 23 yrs. Don't bring jim kak bin ram goat. Do you know the Burnhan Presidential System would have been a goner and who prevented it from happening ,every word is listened from them ,tell us who is the person.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Read what Mits said,hence my reply.

@Mitwah posted:

Those recommendations will fall on deaf ears. The results are Guyana is so much divided along racial lines. Neither the PPP nor the Coalition are interested in healing the great race divide. 

Nothing but the truth.

You are avoiding my question that's OK ... you are the chief propaganda machine on this forum for PNC/ APNU/AFC peddling their lies, now you are saying " Nothing But The Truth" to Mit comments. Do you see the hypocrisy.  

FM
@Nehru posted:

Mits, dat is how animals Roll: No law, no humanity!!

It would be interesting to see if the PPP will try and heal the race divide with oil money.

Ali's academic qualifications will haunt him.

 

Mitwah

I want to see a truly independent electoral body that will conduct elections.  We shouldn't have to have the foreign diplomats forcing Gecom's hands to do what they're supposed to do in the first place.  

Billy Ram Balgobin
@Former Member posted:

Nothing but the truth.

You are avoiding my question that's OK ... you are the chief propaganda machine on this forum for PNC/ APNU/AFC peddling their lies, now you are saying " Nothing But The Truth" to Mit comments. Do you see the hypocrisy.  

What Propaganda he peddled? 

Mitwah
@Former Member posted:

Nothing but the truth.

Mitwah made a statement ,my reply "nothing but the truth " it's equivalent to "Concurred"

Don't blame if you can't understand.

Django
Last edited by Django

I want to see a truly independent electoral body that will conduct elections.  We shouldn't have to have the foreign diplomats forcing Gecom's hands to do what they're supposed to do in the first place.  

Since 2006 there was recommendations ,document was thrown in the dust bin. I have the PDF ,do you need a copy ?

Django
@Former Member posted:

Nothing but the truth.

You are avoiding my question that's OK ... you are the chief propaganda machine on this forum for PNC/ APNU/AFC peddling their lies, now you are saying " Nothing But The Truth" to Mit comments. Do you see the hypocrisy.  

This is rass pass ,why the rhetoric for not understanding ?

Django
@Django posted:

Mitwah made a statement ,my reply "nothing but the truth " it's equivalent to "Concurred"

Don't blame with you rhetoric if you can't understand.

Your writer didn't show up for work this morning.

FM
@Django posted:

What was preventing the PPP to fix the system ? they were there 23 yrs. Don't bring jim kak bin ram goat. Do you know the Burnhan Presidential System would have been a goner and who prevented it from happening ,every word is listened from them ,tell us who is the person.

You selectively choose to have amnesia when addressing the faults of the PPP. You never seem to remember PNC had 33 years to fix the system and did nothing but to sport up and wine down, implement dictatorship, punish the coolies, empty the treasury, fill their pockets, attempted to push the negroes ahead, racism, kick coolies out of jobs and replace them with high school dropouts...and the list can go forever.
Please don't make excuses for the past PNC admins. Ask yourself, "what prevented the PNC from fulfilling their promises from 2015"?

FM
@Django posted:

Who said so ?

It would be interesting to do an analysis in Guyana and determine what percentage of the coalition votes did the KFC contribute. The AFC is dead. They pulled Indian votes in 2015 and was hoping to do the same in 2020. This exploded in their faces. Even the blacks voted for the PPP, a sure in your face rejection from some of the coalition supporters.
Let Vulga Vulva explain how she saw the KFC ballots floating from one region of the country to the other for the PPP.

FM

During the 2015 election campaign i warned about the wild excursion that the AFC was on with the PNC. I knew that upon coming to power the AFC would not have real say in the coalition government.  The AFC was made up of two factions.  The Trotman faction came from the PNC and the other one from the PPP.  The Trotman faction who idolizes Forbes Burnham dominated the party after the elections and subjugated the PPP faction.  The threat and erosion of democracy quickly started within the coalition which led to resignations and a  no-confidence vote.  The AFC lost its footing in the government and consequently their supporters.  The PNC sent the AFC into local government elections to test out what support they have and the results showed that the third force is no longer popular based on their very poor performance.  The PNC decided that the cannot take a chance with them to win the next general election.  They quickly began working on a strategy of limited rigging to pull off a victory.  

Billy Ram Balgobin
@Former Member posted:

It would be interesting to do an analysis in Guyana and determine what percentage of the coalition votes did the KFC contribute.

The AFC is dead. They pulled Indian votes in 2015 and was hoping to do the same in 2020.This exploded in their faces.

Even the blacks voted for the PPP, a sure in your face rejection from some of the coalition supporters.


Let Vulga Vulva explain how she saw the KFC ballots floating from one region of the country to the other for the PPP.

Not because the Berbice Indian ,pulled their votes from the AFC ,it's across the country. I am sure you can't prove how many Afro voted for the PPP/C ,that's what they want people to believe.

Django
@Django posted:

Not because the Berbice Indian ,pulled their votes from the AFC ,it's across the country. I am sure you can't prove how many Afro voted for the PPP/C ,that's what they want people to believe.

That is why I said someone should do an analysis. I am not a statistician and never pretended to one. The Alliance for Clowns was begging on their knees for the PNC to take them in. Granger stamped Ramjattan's ass with a left and a right footprint straight in the crack of his ass, an indelible mark he will carry for the rest of his life.

FM
@Former Member posted:

You selectively choose to have amnesia when addressing the faults of the PPP. You never seem to remember PNC had 33 years to fix the system.

and did nothing but to sport up and wine down, implement dictatorship, punish the coolies, empty the treasury, fill their pockets, attempted to push the negroes ahead, racism, kick coolies out of jobs and replace them with high school dropouts...and the list can go forever.


Please don't make excuses for the past PNC admins. Ask yourself, "what prevented the PNC from fulfilling their promises from 2015"?

Burnham created the voting system in 1980 ,the PPP had 23 years to fix it ,they didn't, one man block it ,plain and simple.

The Coalition came in to government ,3 yrs after front man device a plan to grab power ,from since then the plan started to fraud the electoral system.

Django
@Former Member posted:

Your writer didn't show up for work this morning.

Django ,never depends on anyone to write for him. 19 yrs on this Forum everyone know my style of writing.

Giving yourself too much liberty.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Django posted:

Burnham created the voting system in 1980 ,the PPP had 23 years to fix it ,they didn't, one man block it ,plain and simple.

The Coalition came in to government ,3 yrs after front man device a plan to grab power ,from since then the plan started to fraud the electoral system.

What happened to the 5 years under Grainjaw? Where did he shove all the promises he made? Is the PPP the only party that did not do what they promised to do? It was the PNC constitution and the PNC would not have agreed to change it. You see their opposition to everything the PPP tried to accomplish. Open your eyes man.

FM
@Former Member posted:

What happened to the 5 years under Grainjaw? Where did he shove all the promises he made? Is the PPP the only party that did not do what they promised to do?

It was the PNC constitution and the PNC would not have agreed to change it.

You see their opposition to everything the PPP tried to accomplish. Open your eyes man.

Tells how much you are informed ,Presidential List system was going to revert back prior to the 1980 Constitution,where political parties can form post election alliances ,that was when Corbin was leader of the PNC, they were going for it. One man in the PPP shelved it ,because with a few percentages above 50% votes, the PPP in power for life.

That what you'll want "Indo pun tap" forever in a multi ethnic country where the divide is by a thin margin.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Former Member posted:

What happened to the 5 years under Grainjaw? Where did he shove all the promises he made? Is the PPP the only party that did not do what they promised to do? It was the PNC constitution and the PNC would not have agreed to change it. You see their opposition to everything the PPP tried to accomplish. Open your eyes man.

If you have the Majority why do you need the Opposition to make changes? 

R
@Ramakant-P posted:

If you have the Majority why do you need the Opposition to make changes? 

Banna, is where you living all this time.  You need the opposition because a simple majority is not good enough. You need 2/3 for this.

FM

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