From: umbacchu@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Emran Ally Bacchus)
Subject: guyana: WPA on elections 1992
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 03:15:41 GMT

WPCR
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u	   
cThe final results as announced by ELECTIONS COMMISSION read :DLM(1517); NDF(73); NRP(114); PDM(307);PNC(135,156);PPP(162,197);c	TUF(3,652); UGI(134); URP(1,421); UWP(18); WPA (5339).         
?   Seats::::: PPP(28); PNC(23); TUF(1); WPA (1).

The election results show that the WPA  suffered a heavy defeat atthe polls and that the two old parties reasserted their dominanceof Guyanese politics . As WPA popularity grew, especially after thelaunching of the manifesto, the two old parties began to selectissues other than policies to fight the WPA. Each of these parties,the one based almost exclusively in the INDOGuyanese Community andthe other in the AFROGuyanese Community, sensing a loss of SUPPORTwhich was becoming critical (but mainly  affectin




g the P.N.C),waged a house to house campaign to have the WPA hanged on its owngallows . The PPP felt forced for it own survival to tell INDOGuyanese that the WPA was not what it claimed to be, but was anAfrican party with a secret plan to join the PNC in a coalition.The PNC was equally vicious. it told the AFROGuyanese that the WPAwas an INDOGuyanese party with a secret plan to join the PPP in acoalition.

The people waited for some response from the WPA to these reports.The WPA did not venture a clear denial because it did not want toappear inflexible to a critical population.

_JIn each case, the line of attack was aimed at awakening and exploiting racialfears of African domination on the part Indians and of Indian domination onthe part of Africans. Whether people fully believed the propaganda or not, theresponse of the TWO groups of voters was predictable. They abandoned themultiracial party. The WPA was painted as acting counter to the interests ofeach of the major groups and the great majority returned to those
parties promising defence of a race. This does not explain every vote, but itexplains the sudden switch in voter support from the WPA to the PNC and_ PPP.

Thus the old parties have been pursuing the politics of racialsolidarity by other means. That is, each of them took steps tosecure a loyal ethnic vote and at the same time had marginalcampaigns to capture others outside its own ethnic camp. Bothfailed to do this. The PNC however, was able to intimidate INDOGuyanese and other squatters in at least one place to vote for iton promise of the house-lot they occupied before and during theelections.
(0*0*0*?Since the WPA affronted both these old parties by elevating themultiracial political culture, the explanation of which theyregarded as a rebuke of their organisation they engaged in thecampaign of misrepresentation with energy and much success.


_Note should be taken of the fact that on September 24, the WPA discoveredthat "PPP/Civic" did not appear on the ballot paper and at once called for areprint. The Chair of the Elections Commission guaranteed that the errorwould have no effect on the election and his assurance was accepted by thePPP. Now the PNC has said it is consulting with its lawyers about electionpetitions. Perhaps the P.N.C even inspired the grosser disruptions of the pollso as to use them to discredit the election result

s. People close to whathappened during the election noted  a lot of multiple voting and impersonationby the two old parties. The P.N.C's was a higher level and included seizure ofballot boxes, takeover of polling stations, antipersonal violence and heavy_Zmarking of ballots after the polls were officially closed.


First of all, there were some difficulty in establishing when thepolls closed .Scheduled to close at 6 pm, they were extended by wayof radio and television address by the then President following astreet riot outside the Elections Commission Building. According toreports of polling agents and the press, voting in some  places wasgoing on at 1.20 am and up to 7 am the next day in other places. Even so, assuming polling to be official until 7:30 pm on pollingday, the last result had not yet reached the Commi




ssion 113 hoursafter the officially revised time for the closing of the poll. OnSaturday, October 10, Stanley Singh, the Chief Elections Officer,was giving out results of the Regional Elections when these resultshad not been seen by the Chairman of the Elections Commission.  Amember of the Commission concluded that the former rulers had aprogramme and that they were delaying the results in keeping withthat programme.In the December 7,1964 elections, the last resultscame in on December 9,1964 at 12.30 pm - 




that is, within 60.5 hoursof the close of poll. In 1992, with counting of the ballots at the
place of poll (one of the chief gains of the electoral reform) andwith international observers present, results of the voting in manydivisions have yet to  be announced.


?+#At 8 pm on Wednesday October 7, 1992 the results indicated avictory for the PPP with about  56 % of the electorate ,with theP.N.C running second with  about 38 % of the electorate. It wasthen estimated that about 65 %  of the electorate went to thepolls. By 9:50 am on Friday October 9, 1992, the official resultsreported a "Total Percent Turnout of 81 % . This sudden leap in thepercentage turnout is another one of the many mysteries to be?(explained.(0*0*0*
Socalled disenfranchisement was widespread. Double and multipleenfranchisement also took place. The Elections Commission  wasunwilling or unable to cope with the clerical work needed betweenSeptember 28 and October 4 to delete the names of disciplinedforces members who voted on September 28.          

Thus some poll officials and agents had no means of knowing that aperson listed to vote had previously voted on September 28. Thisfailure could let in about 6000 voters who should not be there andshould not vote a second time. For the second election running, theP.N.C invaded polling  stations and disrupted elections procedures.In 1985, President Hoyte blandly denied any election day incident.In 1992, the incidents were so clearly established that no one haseven asked the P.N.C. leader whether he admits th




em or not.
In condemning the street  violence ,it can be assumed that hedistanced himself from the incidents.

The election was fair in the sense that the P.N.C lost much of itsformer controls , especially of ballot boxes and ballot papers, andanother party was able to prevail. The aim of defeating thedictatorship was achieved. Two questions arise.

Must Guyana expect a disruption of the polls at the hands of theP.N.C every time  an election seems to be going against the party?bSecondly , what is the status of the most democratic elections in Guyana whenbbecause of stubborn ethnic alignments the outcome can be known in advance?


?:	`	`	PARLIAMENTARY SEATS	


After a general election, 53 seats have to be filled by the partieson the invitation of the Chief Elections Officer and proportionateto the percentage of votes won.

Another ten seats in the National Assembly are filled by the tenregional councils which meet separately and elect one member eachfor the parliament.

In addition, there are another two parliamentary seats which areallocated to the two members elected by the regions through the National Council of Regional Democratic Organs (N.C.L.D.O.). The N.C.L.D.O. is the upper tier of the regional system.
This brings the complement of members of the National Assembly to65 , (53+10+2). All members have the right to vote.
In addition to these 65 Members of Parliament, the government mayincrease the number of members of parliament by two means,
(1). it can appoint ministers from outside of parliament.
(2). It can create any number of members of vicepresidents , whoat once become ministers but will not appoint any.
These can come from members of parliament or from among personsqualified to be members of parliament.2)0*0*0*?"STABROEK NEWS" editorial of Tuesday ,October 13,1992 gives theposition :
' Sixtyone of these seats have been finally allocated. Of the 53elected the P.P.P. has 28, the P.N.C. has 23, the W.P.A. has 1, andthe T.U.F. has 1. The P.P.P. have won four regional seats givingthem a total of 32 seats and the P.N.C has won 4 for a total of 27.Four remains to be determined. These are the two seats to be filledby elections to be held by members of the Regional DemocraticCouncils of Regions 8 and 9 and the two seats to be filled by an?election to be held by the N.C.L.D.O.'



In those two regions , no party has a majority  of the members ofthe Regional Democratic Council . Under the constitution, eachcouncil elects one of its members to serve as a member of theNational Assembly on such day as the President by proclamationappoints. The member to be chosen will therefore depend on theagreements reached between the parties involved. In Region 8 theseare the P.N.C., P.P.P. , W.P.A. . In Region 9 these are the P.N.C.P.P.P. and T.U.F. If the P.P.P. can make a deal with both  theW.P.A




. and T.U.F  it could get both those seats giving it amajority of 34 seats in the National Assembly and could use themajority it would then have in the N.C.L.D.O. {P.P.P(6), P.N.C.(4)}to select W.P.A. and T.U.F members to fill the remaining two seats.In that event, the final composition of the National Assembly wouldbe P.P.P(34), P.N.C.(27), T.U.F(2), W.P.A(2). The  P.P.P WOULD THENHAVE A WORKING  MAJORITY in Parliament. It seems clear from theconstitution that all the 65 members have a vote ( and that ha



s
been the practice ) so a majority of 33 is needed to pass laws. 
If the P.P.P does not reach agreement with either the W.P.A orT.U.F. they could end up with a minority of 32 in the NationalAssembly.... "
Since then agreement with W.P.A and T.U.F. has enabled theGovernment to clinch a 35 seat majority in the National Assembly?X"and has left the former ruling P.N.C with its 27 seats as the? largest Opposition party in Parliament." (CHRONICLE, October?28,1992).