Crime and security, the economy and outstanding constitutional issues are among the priorities that have been identified for an ongoing engagement between the government and the parliamentary opposition.
Stabroek News understands that the areas for continuing dialogue were agreed upon during a meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and representatives of the parliamentary opposition parties, PNCR, AFC and GAP-ROAR.
The meeting was in keeping with President Jagdeo's post-election commitments to inclusiveness and the development of a framework of cooperation among the parties. In his inaugural address after taking the oath of office, Jagdeo signalled his interest in dispensing with the feelings of animosity generated by the political campaigns in order to work to advance the goals of development and national unity. He emphasised that there would be scope for all political parties to work together under an enhanced framework of political cooperation, rooted in the primacy of parliament, grounded in a system that is responsive and accountable, and extended to civil society to deepen its participation in decision-making. "We will have to hammer out together this framework of cooperation in which the ideas and views that are sound and positive can become part of an evolving policy environment and provide those parties that are interested, the opportunity of assisting with their implementation," he said.
On November 10, Jagdeo met with representatives of the parliamentary opposition at the Office of the President, where he agreed to continue to engage with them. The President is also said to be considering having a formal meeting every quarter.
The newspaper has been told that the head of state made it clear that his administration was willing to engage the parliamentary opposition groups to explore opportunities for working together. As a result, a number of areas were identified to form the basis for this cooperation and to build trust and develop relationships between the parties for mutual benefit. Apart from crime, security and the economy, other key issues include the 2007 budget preparation, local government, recall legislation as well as constitutional issues like the appointment of the chancellor and members of the integrity commission.
For more than a year, the consultations on the Chancellor vacancy have been stalled. The constitution requires an agreement between the President and the opposition leader. Members of the Bar have expressed concern over Chief Justice Carl Singh functioning in both capacities during the impasse. This was one of the issues raised during the meeting. Jagdeo acknowledged that the constitution provided for both offices and he was also well aware of the perception that the government was in control of and manipulating the judicature. However, he indicated to those present that Guyana had signed on to the Caribbean Court of Justice and that all other Caribbean countries only had the office of chief justice and he was interested in seeing Guyana streamlined accordingly. Jagdeo did suggest that the situation could provide the opportunity to open public debate on the issue.
The President also indicated his desire to see local government polls held by August of next year. In this regard, PNCR leader Robert Corbin is reported to have impressed upon the meeting his concerns about new discussions on the issues that had been agreed upon in the area of local government reform. In fact, the electoral system and the mechanism for the transfer of fiscal funds between the central government and local government bodies were the only outstanding issues. Corbin did note the need to develop a new register of voters. However, the President is said to have been disinclined to this course since the country could not afford such an exercise in the wake of the recent general elections.
Both the Commonwealth and OAS have recommended that the country pursue a new national registration exercise in order to restore public confidence in the integrity of the voters' list. But estimates for a new countrywide national registration have put the figure at over a billion dollars. Sources indicate that were the country to go this route, the polls might have to be deferred until 2008.
Meanwhile, with local government polls on the agenda for discussion, campaign financing legislation could become one of the talking points among the parties. This has been one of the issues raised before and during the recent election campaign.
Last week, when the OAS released its observer mission report on the 2006 polls it cited campaign financing as one of the issues that holds relevance for Guyana, as it is being addressed in Caribbean and OAS member states throughout the hemisphere.
Also, a recent survey of key electoral stakeholders by the Guyana Peace Builders Network found that they favoured having campaign financing legislation to get parties to give an account of their sources and spending after elections. It was noted in the study that opposition parties felt unduly disadvantaged by the sheer magnitude of the state resources that promoted the political campaign of the incumbent, whether through providing access to remote communities or development projects that were implemented months prior to elections.
As a result, some interviewees suggested that Guyana take a cue from the Indian Political Code of Conduct to level the playing field. India's code, among other things, precludes the incumbent party from launching new development projects or programmes in the election year and from using the state assets (buildings, vehicles, etc) during the campaigns; it also has to make a clear distinction between party and state assets.
Closer to home, the Trafigura scandal in Jamaica has been the catalyst for calls for the enactment of campaign financing legislation in the island and in other territories. Jamaica's opposition leader last month at the swearing in of members of its electoral commission describ-ed campaign financing as the great challenge to the new body. He urged the group to strike a balance in their efforts to safeguard the political system, while ensuring that the process was not starved of legitimate funding.
The debate in Jamaica was sparked by an alleged contribution of J$31M from the Dutch-based oil company Trafigura Beheer ending up in the account of the general secretary of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) Colin Campbell. The controversy led to Campbell's resignation, both as party general secretary and as Jamaica's Infor-mation Minister. Campbell had claimed that the money was a gift from Trafigura towards the PNP's election campaign, while the company denied that it had made a contribution to the party.