Citizenship Initiative still open to elections coalition, says ‘inclusivity’ key
-launching interactive manifesto
The Citizenship Initiative (TCI) has not closed the door on a coalition with other small parties for the upcoming March 2nd, 2020 polls, according to its presidential candidate Rondha-Ann Lam, who yesterday said any such alliance would require that inclusivity along the lines of gender, ethnicity and youth be adequately addressed.
Lam was at the time speaking at a press conference at Duke Lodge, Kingston, where it was announced that the party would launch an “interactive manifesto” online today under the theme ‘An Agenda for Transformation 2020,’ and it encouraged feedback that will be taken into consideration when the final document is being prepared.
Lam said that TCI is continuing to have discussions with other parties as it relates to a coalition for the polls.
TCI has had talks with A New and United Guyana (ANUG) prior to and after its launch and since then Lam said there was a dialogue with the party’s leader, former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran. A number of “optics” were looked at for such a coalition and these positions were to be taken back to the executive bodies of the respective parties for a decision to be made. Specific questions, she said, were asked by Ramkarran, such as how they would arrive at the presidential and prime ministerial candidates and she explained that TCI not only looked at the optics being represented to the public as it relates to those candidates in terms of ethnicity but it is also looking at youth and gender inclusivity in any slate presented.
According to Lam, Ramkarran later indicated that his party would be going it alone. However, over the weekend ANUG announced that it had formed a coalition with the Federal United Party (FEDUP) and that it is still in talks with TCI.
Lam said TCI would further reengage ANUG for further clarity, while adding that it remains in amiable talks with Change Guyana, led by businessman Robert Badal, for a potential coalition.
But she said such a coalition would only come after they have discussed gender, ethnicity, youth inclusivity, all of which she said “are critical for us” since they are the “founding principles upon which TCI stands and therefore they must be looked and be favourable in order for us to produce a slate that takes into consideration Guyana’s diversity.”
She said TCI has concerns as it relates to some other parties’ policies as it relates to not only gender diversity but also religious beliefs, which are at odds with their core principles.
Lam noted that two parties, the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM), have specifically stated that they are going to go alone and therefore they have had no talks with those parties.
Dissolution of Parliament
Meanwhile, Lam said TCI is also concerned about the lengthy gap between Nomination Day and Election Day, and called for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and its commissioners to explain the rationale.
The draft schedule of timelines presented by the GECOM Secretariat includes a 55-day gap between Nomination Day and Elections Day, which nearly doubles the minimum of 32 days provided for by law. According to statute, Nomination Day – the day parties submit their list of candidates, must be no less than 32 days before Polling Day. This number has guided the actions of the commission in the past, with the April 7th Nomination Day for the 2015 general and regional elections falling 34 days before the May 11th Polling Day. For the 2011 elections, Nomination Day was October 27th, exactly 32 days before the November 28 Polling Day. However, for the two most recent Local Government Elections, the gap widened to 53 and 51 days, respectively. During this period, the GECOM Secretariat routinely procures sensitive materials, such as ballot papers, after verifying that all those nominated are suitably eligible.
The TCI presidential candidate also expressed concerns over the fact that Parliament has not been dissolved as yet.
The party also wants transparency in the process of campaign financing and suggested that at least one month before elections there is a “full transparent process as to where parties receive their financing for the 2020 elections.” As a result, it believes a full audited account of parties’ financial details should also be released at least six months after the elections. Critical in this process, according to Lam, is the tabling of a bill in the National Assembly that allows for transparent financial reform, including clear guidelines as to how one can contribute to a campaign to ensure that there are no levels of corruption within a campaign.
Lam also suggested a code of conduct for parties participating in the elections, while pointing to unsavoury practices in the past.
“We are calling openly for all parties to adhere to ethical campaign practices, which includes not removing or damaging other parties’ paraphernalia and. of course, any kind of threats of violence to potential party supporters, no matter which party you support,” she said.
The party plans to contest at least seven of the ten administrative regions and said that while it is “out-numbered and out-gunned” in terms of dollars, Facebook analytics show that it remains consistently in the top three for its reach, for participation in conversations on its pages as well as for feedback. Lam said the party can release such information to the media as proof of the statement. TCI also called for debates addressing issues that affect Guyanese among all contesting parties’ presidential and prime ministerial candidates.
Transformation plans
Meanwhile, founder member of the party Ruel Johnson, in outlining TCI’s transformation plans, spoke of participatory citizenship, enhanced governance and public accountability.
He also spoke of the need for constitutional reform and in this regard he said that the party believes that the groundwork has been laid and that the two major political parties—the PPP/C and PNCR— have “been kicking the can down the road.” As a result, TCI is committed to pursuing the reforms during the next parliamentary session.
For TCI, any constitutional reform should see the drastic reduction of the powers of the president and this could include censure and impeachment of the office holder, establishment of a mechanism for shared governance, the replacement of the current electoral list system with a direct constituency-based democracy, and complete depoliticisation of the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) and the establishment of a professional organisation with a mandate to ensure that all processes of the institution are subject to public scrutiny.
The party is also in favour of further entrenching the role of women in political leadership and hopes to see the mandatory participation for female candidates being raised from 30% to 40% and the same for youth candidates.
TCI is also looking to have constitutional guarantees for basic housing and shelter for all citizens and guaranteed access to land ownership for domestic use, particularly over land acquisition by foreign actors.
And in wake of several parliamentarians, including four government ministers, being forced to resign their posts after the courts declared that dual citizens were legally ineligible to be parliamentarians, TCI is exploring a pathway for the inclusion of dual citizens from the Guyanese diaspora in the National Assembly.
The newly formed party is also looking at the expansion of the fundamental rights and the expansion of constitutional protections against discrimination to include LGBT persons.
Additionally, the party will be advocating for Wi-Fi access as a basic rights as well as the right to digital privacy, including protection against unsanctioned surveillance and clandestine non-consensual acquisition of private data by either private or public entities.