GECOM silent on inquiry about election expenses of parties
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not replied to an October 12, 2020 letter from commentator Christopher Ram requesting copies of the declaration of expenses by political parties which contested the March 2nd general elections.
Ram had written GECOM Chair Claudette Singh pointing out that according to Section 108 of the Representation of the People Act, the election agent of each group of candidates has to forward to the Chief Election Officer a return in Form 26 of the Act.
He pointed out that this return was due no later than 35 days following the declaration of the result which would have been September 7th. Ram also pointed out that in the absence of an authorised excuse the failure to comply “constitutes an illegal practice”.
Ram further noted that Section 109 requires the publication in the Official Gazette of a summary of the returns and a notice of the time and place at which the return and declaration can be inspected or copies of these purchased. Ram said he was desirous of obtaining copies of the returns for analysis and public dissemination.
The letter was sent to Singh and copied to the six commissioners.
In a statement on Saturday, Ram expressed regret that he had not even been given the courtesy of a reply by Singh.
He said that the provision is not unrelated to campaign financing, “a matter about which I have advocated for decades, and which is intended to bring accountability (to) the political parties which at the moment is close to zero. This is not good for democracy ..for our country”.