This was Published on October 26, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nGuyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has not replied to an October 12, 2020\nletter from commentator Christopher Ram requesting copies of the declaration of\nexpenses by political parties which contested the March 2nd general elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ram\nhad written GECOM Chair Claudette Singh pointing out that according to Section\n108 of the Representation of the People Act, the election agent of each group\nof candidates has to forward to the Chief Election Officer a return in Form 26\nof the Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\npointed out that this return was due no later than 35 days following the\ndeclaration of the result which would have been September 7th. Ram also\npointed out that in the absence of an authorised excuse the failure to comply\n\u201cconstitutes an illegal practice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ram\nfurther noted that Section 109 requires the publication in the Official Gazette\nof a summary of the returns and a notice of the time and place at which the\nreturn and declaration can be inspected or copies of these purchased. Ram said\nhe was desirous of obtaining copies of the returns for analysis and public\ndissemination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nletter was sent to Singh and copied to the six commissioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na statement on Saturday, Ram expressed regret that he had not even been given\nthe courtesy of a reply by Singh.\n\nHe said that the provision is not unrelated to\ncampaign financing, \u201ca matter about which I have advocated for decades, and\nwhich is intended to bring accountability (to) the political parties which at\nthe moment is close to zero. This is not good for democracy ..for our country\u201d.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This was Published on October 26, 2020 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 … <\/p>\n