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By Terrence Esseboom GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyanese go to the polls in less than a month with heavy fears that violence and fraud could disrupt the elections and shatter attempts to build peace in this fragile, racially divided country.
Eleven political parties will contest the August 28 polls, which have been pinned down in controversy for months as opposition parties questioned preparations, including the method of cleaning the voters’ register.
The parties filed their nomination papers last Wednesday, plunging into the race to determine which of them will secure the confidence of the 450,000 electors to govern the country, split between Africans and Indian descendants.
Mindful of rising crime and violence across the country, Dr Steve Surujbally, chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene have issued assurances that law enforcement agents will not allow criminal gangs and political hacks to disrupt the polls.
“We have people who are ready to deal with the challenges of elections,” Greene assured an anxious nation last week.
Guyana has had its share of political violence and electoral fraud, especially since the early 1990s, and there are lingering concerns that the upcoming polls are heading along the same path.
A noted clergyman, Bishop Francis Alleyne, launched an emotional appeal to Guyanese to renounce violence but laments that many residents here have resigned themselves to a season of political controversy and madness.
“An election should resolve the question of representation and thus set the stage for ongoing peace and progress. Many hope for this, but sadly few that I have spoken with expect this scenario to materialise,” Bishop Alleyne said last week.
The anticipated failure is rooted in the old problem of racial suspiciousness which has been crystallised in political loyalty. The governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), headed by President Bharrat Jagdeo draws the base of its support from Indians, while Robert Corbin’s People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) relies on Blacks for its core support.
Bishop Alleyne recognises the race issue as a major barrier to peace in this Caribbean Community country, located on the eastern edge of South America.
“Whatever else we do, each of us has a solemn responsibility never in word or deed to contribute in any way to racial animosity or confrontation in our country. We should also always work to dissuade any of our associates, who are tempted to, from engaging in words or acts which feed racial hostility or discrimination in any way,” he said.
GECOM’s Surujbally said the electoral body will implement a menu of measures to safeguard against election fraud and the mayhem it can cause.
“At the behest of the People’s National Congress Reform a list of safeguard measures which could provide assurance that skullduggery will not be perpetrated at any stage of the.elections process is currently being prepared,” Surujbally said.
Said added: “Upon completion, this regime of safeguards is expected to provide a high level of comfort to the contesting political parties (and) will also be shared with other stakeholders including the donor agencies, and domestic and international observers.”
The PNC/R has been complaining for months that the elections body is not prepared for the polls and insists the elections will be marred by fraud and mismanagement. Key among its concerns is the voters’ list, which it says contains several duplicates.
Despite these concerns, the commission says it is ready for the polls and signalled to President Jagdeo earlier this month that he could go ahead and call elections.
At the same time, a call has been made for the local media to use its influence to improve race relations by not sensationalising its reporting on sensitive political issues.
Surujbally in a meeting with media representatives last week reminded reporters of their duty to help maintain the public peace, especially during the elections period.
“I must confess that there is another motive for this morning’s meeting with the media, and that is to implore you – no, demand of you – to be responsible and fair in your reporting of events; to desist from making scandalous, inflammatory, sensationalist and unverified statements,” he said.
He added: “the next few weeks will be turbulent. In this milieu of excitableness, you cannot add fuel to the fire. The nation is too fragile, too vulnerable to withstand any element of disorder.”