Constitution body sets criteria for possible new electoral system
By Patrick Denny
The Constitutional Reform Commission has identified the criteria it would like a new electoral system to meet and is to discuss these with experts in this area to see if there is a suitable model. At least three experts in electoral systems are due to meet with the Commission this month. The criteria were developed against the background that neither of the two major political parties in their submissions recommended a change in the electoral system. The issue was discussed earlier last week by the Commission as it continued its series of debates on a number of major issues to assess the range of views on them. Among the criteria identified were that the electoral system should be simple, easy to implement, not costly and should contribute to a solution to the problem of ethnic voting. Also they said that it should combine the relationship between the elected representatives and their constituencies offered by the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system with the proportionality afforded by the Proportional Representation (PR) system. Characteristics which they also said would be desirable would be that the system should encourage the development of new parties; should not discriminate against any group in the society; and did not entrench the winner-take-all position. They are also seeking a system which would induce the party leaders to appeal to voters across ethnic lines and would reduce the authority of the political directorate in selecting persons who would sit in the parliament. The current constitutional provision which allows for a mix of the PR and FPTP systems but which was never implemented, also came in for consideration, with some members arguing in favour of such a system to be explicitly stated in the constitution and no longer be an option to be exercised at the whim of the government of the day. They noted that an unintended function of the provisions was that it could result after an election in a coalition government but that there were no supporting arrangements in the constitution to accommodate such an outcome. As a consequence, they felt that if the electoral system was to have such a characteristic, there would have to be other arrangements which would allow for significant interest groups to have their concerns addressed and factored into the decision-making process. One member suggested that in considering the various electoral systems in use, his colleagues should look at the report of the Constitution Commission of Fiji which had researched the various systems. However, he warned that in the end the system which is designed would need to take into account the peculiar circumstances of Guyana. This view was supported by another member who felt that the search need not go any farther than the system of PR used in the 1966 elections under which the parties were required to list their candidates in order of preference rather than alphabetically as is the requirement now. The members noted too that the recommendations of the individuals and organisations which had reached the Commission all bemoaned the absence of any link with their elected representatives and the lack of accountability of these representatives. It was noted that all these persons felt that a system which enforced accountability of the representatives was what needed to be put in place. Some members also cautioned that the impression should not be given that the electoral system would by itself solve the problem of ethnic voting. They argued that there should be constitutional and extra-constitutional measures which could contribute to a solution to the cause of ethnic voting. One such measure cited was the education system which could address the issues of racial stereotyping and the promotion of ethnically tolerable behaviour. Others argued that while the electoral system was not the cause of the ethnic cleavage in the society it, however, helped in perpetuating the cleavage. As a consequence, it said that a desirable characteristic of any electoral system recommended by the Commission should be that it does not contribute to the perpetuation of racial division. In their discussion about costs in relation to the electoral system, the members acknowledged that it would be better to have a system which was costly but effective as the disruptions after every elections are in the end much more severe. One of the characteristics of the PR electoral system which was brought to the attention of the Commission was that it allowed for the participation of minorities. However, members expressed concern that new parties should be allowed to develop even though they recognised that the existing major parties could change as a result of evolution.
|