By Mark DaCosta- In this final part of this series, we summarise some of the biggest issues related to the subject, list reasons why political financing reform will probably not happen any time soon, particularly under a Bharrat Jagdeo controlled People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime, and look at possible solutions.
Campaign finance reform is necessary in Guyana – if Guysnese want a democratic country – for three major reasons:
The current system fosters a “votes [and influence] for sale” reality instead of a true democratic system.
Big donors, including, perhaps, an oil company, determine our government’s priorities, policies, and programs, and ultimately our collective destiny, instead of Guyanese citizens.
The wishes of big campaign finance donors may not coincide with those of the majority of Guyanese; in fact, the opposite may be the case.Â
In January 2021, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall said that whenever there is no transparency and accountability in political financing, the result is usually corruption.
Mr. Nandlall, was, at the time, paying lip service to the idea of reform – something that the PPP does all the time.Â
Mr. Nandlall, noting that reform was part of the PPP’s 2020 manifesto, said, “Hold us accountable based on our manifesto promise.” The Attorney General asserted that, “Our manifesto made promises for this five-year period. It will be delivered before this five-year period in accordance with our manifesto. It may happen before the end of the year [2021].”
Of course, we are now in mid-2023, and the PPP has made absolutely no moves towards reform.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo may have given Guyanese some insight into the real thinking of the PPP in May 2023. The real thinking of the PPP is absolutely opposed to reform.
Mr. Jagdeo, at a public forum on the topic, express his opinions including the following:
Many donors consider their contributions to be investments – and they expect a return on those investments.
Big donors sometimes contribute to both major parties, thereby hedging their bets.
There are too many embedded issues in the system [for a solution to be identified and implemented]
The PPP is concerned that if the identities of the PPP donors become known, the political opposition would boycott those donors and their business.
Of course, all Guyanese would easily discern that Jagdeo’s “concerns” are entirely contrived.Â
An unidentified writer at the Kaiteur News summed it up quite nicely; he or she wrote, “The question is whether (the) General Secretary [Bharrat Jagdeo] is so nervous about the identity of donors open to public scrutiny, or if he is more agitated about the TYPE OF DONORS (my emphasis), and the volumes of cash that are channeled to his party (the PPP).Â
In the course of this series of articles the main problems were identified, and the means that various territories are attempting to solve the challenges were mentioned.
Such attempts include:
Public financing for political activities
Caps on political donations
Caps on campaign spendingÂ
Exclusion of foreign capital from political campaigns
Scrutiny of political accounts by independent bodies
Public naming of donors
Legislation and enforcement to prevent abuse of state resources
Enforcement of existing legislation
Unfortunately, by now, it should be evident that political financing reform will not soon come to Guyana – barring some miraculous occurrence. That fact is saddening. Guyanese may wish to consider that a 2015 report by the Carter Center stated that:
“To ensure realisation of the right and opportunity to be elected, legal reform is necessary to improve campaign finance laws. Legislation should be strengthened to routinely require disclosure of contributions and expenditures. Consideration also should be given to establishing reasonable limits on donations and expenditures to ensure that the free choice of voters is not undermined or the democratic process distorted by disproportionate expenditures on behalf of any candidate or party.”
