Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 26, 2017 News
Following the May 2015 General and Regional Elections, it was observed by the Carter Center that gaps in the law on campaign financing have created a weak distinction between the resources of the ruling party and the resources of the state.
According to the report that was recently released, at the time of the elections, this weak distinction had existed between state resources and that of the ruling party at the time, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C). The Carter Center, created by former US President Jimmy Carter, has been an elections watchdog for a number of years.
The report noted that the absence of public funding for political parties had impaired the ability of smaller parties to compete. It was stated that it will be of great significance that for future electoral fairness, laws are introduced on party finances to create greater transparency.
It was considered in the report that it is a given that political parties and their candidates need financing and adequate access to resources in order to campaign and make their platforms known and available to the populace.
As such, the Center said that Guyana should put measures in place to prevent corruption, particularly in the context of campaign financing. This is important, since the country would have signed on to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.
The report noted that Guyana’s legal framework is weak on this matter and has contributed to inequalities between political parties. Currently, some aspects of campaign financing are dealt with under the Representation of the People Act.
The report said that the ceilings contained in this law are unrealistically low compared to the actual spending on campaigns. “Statements of election expenses are required by law to be submitted to the chief election officer within 35 days of the declaration of results, but there is no legal provision to enforce the spending limits.”
This is not the first time that it was observed by international bodies that the campaign financing laws in Guyana are inadequate. In 2005, a United States Agency for International Development 2005 study which dealt with the redrafting and modernising of the electoral laws of Guyana recommended that amending the aforementioned Act could address the issue.
The report, which was completed by former Chief Elections Officer of Jamaica, Carl Dundas said that the Representation of the People Act, as it currently stands, does not provide for a developed framework for reporting on political party campaign financing.
According to the study, the Act in its current form, addresses election expenses as they relate to candidates, and not the political parties themselves. It was said that to give legal effect for the mandatory disclosure of financial information by political parties, the issue should be dealt with by amending the Act to include new sections 120A and 120B.
The election expenses of political parties is to be addressed in Section 120A and Disclosure by Political Parties is to be looked at in Section 120B.
Within the proposed Section 120A, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a political party in respect of a constituency, shall be at a general election, calculated on the basis of the number of elector residing in the particular constituency, multiplied by a factor of the equivalent in local currency of US$4.
Further, it was recommended that in respect of seat allocation based on a proportional representation system, the calculated amount shall be on the basis of the number of electors on the register in Guyana, multiplied by a factor of the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$5.
To ensure compliance, the report recommended that any political party who acts in contravention of the Section would liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$15,000.
Within the proposed new Section 120B, the USAID report suggested that every political party shall keep an account book into which shall be recorded all monetary and others forms of contribution received by the party for the purposes of the election campaign.
Including in this record is to be the name and address of any person or entity that contributes money or otherwise which exceeds the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$30,000.
It was also recommended that no political party is to accept any monetary or other contribution exceeding the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$20,000 unless the party can identify the source of the money or other contribution to the Commission.
Further, each party shall have its election expenses account audited and shall be submitted as a separate audited return to GECOM within three months after an election in which a sponsored candidate would have contested.
The return will have to be accompanied with the signatures of the party’s auditors and Chairman of the party supported by a sworn affidavit by the signatories as to the correctness of its contents.
According to the report, the return submitted to GECOM will show the amount of money expended by or on behalf of the party on election expenses, the items of expenditure, and commercial value of goods and services received for election purposes. This information will also include the name, address and occupation of all contributors of the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$30,000 or more.
Breaching this section would result in an offence being committed which will attract a fine not exceeding the equivalent in Guyana dollars of US$10,000. Additionally, if an audited return is submitted outside of the stipulated time, the court may impose a penalty of US$2,000 per day until the return is submitted.
The information provided to GECOM would also be subjected to public scrutiny, since the audited returns will be available during regular business hours at the Commission’s national and regional offices.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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