By Svetlana Marshall

Monday’s elections were competitive and peaceful, but an undue advantage by the governing party, legal gaps and insufficient campaign rules, created an uneven playing field, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) has found.

The Election Observation Mission delivered its preliminary report on Monday’s General and Regional Elections at the Pegasus Suites today.

Chief Observer, Robert Biedron, who is a Member of the European Parliament, explained that the incumbent party’s advantage over the other five political parties distorted the level playing field during the election campaign.

“On 1 September Guyana held its General and Regional Elections in a peaceful and orderly manner. Voters cued patiently, polling stations opened on time, and polling staff carried out their duties professionally and efficiently. At the same time, the elections took place in a highly polarized and evolving political landscape against the backdrop of exponential oil revenue growth. While fundamental freedoms were largely respected, the campaign was affected by unequal conditions, largely due to the ruling party’s incumbency advantage,” Biedron explained.

In the lead up to E-Day, President Irfaan Ali and his Administration commissioned a number of public projects – hospitals, schools, roads and bridges – in addition to a number of social support programmes that overlapped into their campaign activities, the report noted.

“The campaign finance is largely unregulated leading to a lack of transparency and accountability. The ruling party benefited from the advantages of incumbency. Public projects such as hospitals, schools, roads and bridges were inaugurated in a parallel with campaign activities, while state media, government and social media channels amplified the ruling party’s messages. Let me be clear on that, when the line between state and party blurs voters are disadvantaged and the level of playing field is compromised,” Biedron stated.

EU observers also noted that most inauguration events were largely attended by PPP/C supporters in party colours and symbols, while candidates’ speeches urged a vote for the ruling party.

Beneficiaries of Government cash support, it added, reported having received unsolicited phone calls encouraging them to vote for the ruling party, raising concerns over the misuse of personal data.

The observer mission also took note of the unprecedented mass promotion and bonuses for more than 2,800 police officers, which were announced by President Ali on August 10 just weeks before the elections.

Biedron told reporters that direct pressure on civil servants and part-time governmental employees was also reported, with instances of civil servants being demoted or transferred from one to another location after they had expressed support for another party – We Invest in Nationhood (WIN).

Added to that, EU EOM observers received reports of voters refraining from openly supporting opposition parties fearing negative repercussions such as the loss of employment or social benefits.

According to the Election Observation Missions, the lines were blurred and campaign financing in the country remains largely unregulated leading to a lack of transparency and accountability. Spending ceilings are low and outdated, and the existing rules are ambiguously drafted, the Chief of Mission reported.

Political parties and candidates are obligated to report campaign expenditures to GECOM; however, this has not been enforced, the EOM said, adding that there is no state funding in Guyana, and no provisions defining permissible sources and uses of funding, donations, or campaign expenditures.

It stressed that there are no regulations to ensure a level playing field for neither campaigning, nor adequate rules to minimize the use of state resources to the advantage of incumbency.

The election campaign was marked by widespread allegations of direct and indirect vote buying against PPP/C and WIN candidates, predominantly in vulnerable communities, the EU observer mission said.

The EU EOM has been in Guyana since July 23 July monitoring the country’s electoral process with a total of 50 observers on the ground.  They will remain in the country until the conclusion of the electoral process, and will issue its final report in the coming weeks.

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