Introduction

Electoral reform in Guyana started in 1990 and continued throughout the period preceding the 2001 General and Regional Elections. Following the Caricom Agreement, Constitution Amendment Act No. 2 of 2000 was enacted.

The previous Elections Commission was established by virtue of the Constitution Amendment Act No. 15 of 1995. This Act provided for the Commission's operations specifically between the 12th December, 1995 and the date of expiry of three months after the date of the General Elections of December 15, 1997. The Chairman and other members of the Commission were appointed in a similar manner as the current Commission.

Prior to the enactment of Constitution Amendment Act No. 15 of 1995, Article 161 (1) of the Constitution provided for the establishment of the Elections Commission as follows. "There shall be an Elections Commission for Guyana consisting of a Chairman and such other members as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of this article".

Article 161 (2) of the Constitution (subject to paragraph 6 of the Article) provided that "the Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be appointed by the President from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who are qualified to be appointed as any such judge".

Article 161 (3) of the Constitution provided for members of the Commission as follows. "In addition to the Chairman, there shall be one member of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as a "representative member") in respect of every list of candidates which at the election next preceding the appointment of such a member obtained not less that five seats in the Assembly; Provided that no appointment shall be made under this paragraph during the period of three months immediately following the date of an election held pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 of the Constitution".

“In the wake of the 1985 defeat, five of the six main opposition parties, including the PPP formed the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy and lobbied, locally and internationally, for electoral reforms in time for the next elections which was due by May 1991. The major reforms that they demanded were the creation of a totally independent Elections Commission with authority over all aspects of the electoral process and the counting of ballots at polling places, restricting the military to barracks on polling day, and the presence of international observers” (Moderating Ethnic Tensions by Electoral Mediation – The Case of Guyana by David J Carroll and Robert A. Pastor of the Carter Centre of Emory University.

Mr. Hugh Desmond Hoyte, President at that time, agreed to an amendment transferring some authority back to the Elections Commission and invited the Commonwealth and a non governmental group composed of 21 leaders from throughout the western hemisphere, Chaired by former US President Jimmy Carter and based at the Carter Centre of Emory University in Atlanta) to send a delegation to observe the elections. As a result of this President Carter consulted with several Council members and led a small delegation to Guyana in October 1990 to assess electoral conditions among other reasons.

Two of the most important issues dealt with by the Carter led delegation were the need for a new registration list and the need to change the method of tallying votes so as to permit counting at each polling place. After intensive discussions, all sides reached agreement on both issues. (1) A new house-to-house registration would be implemented to replace the existing voter's list and (2) President Hoyte agreed to a preliminary counting of ballots at the place of poll.

The principal unresolved issue was the impartiality of the Elections Commission. A second Council mission, led by Prime Minister George Price of Belize, and Dr. Robert Pastor of the Council, visited Guyana in March and April 1991 to address this issue and observe the registration process. The Council delegation was able to forge a compromise solution. The Elections Commission was expanded with the Government and the opposition each naming two additional members, and with a new Chairman selected by the President from a list proposed by the opposition. It is because of this solution that the Elections Commission comprises of a Chairman and six Commissioners who are appointed in accordance with Constitutional Amendment Act No. 2 of 2000.