Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 23/Nov 04:44

Let’s have fixed election dates

Having free and fair elections is the operational foundation for a healthy democracy. That’s why so much fuss is usually made about election procedures and abuse of political power. Take the coming Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections. Last week, a reporter asked me what I thought about Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and officials of the THA using state assets in the campaign for these elections. Now not all government “assets” are physical. There is political discretion, which, when applied by a government, can change things – even create an uneven playing field for elections. Why do our governments and now the THA continue to fail to put in place fixed dates for elections? While the THA elections, according to the THA Act (Section 22, Act No. 40 of 1996), must be held between January 12 and February 12, 2026, everybody except Mr Augustine is put through a wild guessing game about the exact date. Two weeks ago, he said he was “praying” about the date. Last week, he promised to call them “early next year.” This puts other parties at a disadvantage in preparation and mobilisation. Even tourists, businessmen and investors would prefer an exact date for the elections. Fair and free elections require a level playing field, and one way is to have a fixed election date, not one that sleeps in the Chief Secretary’s back pocket. It’s the same indirect “abuse” of power, though legally allowed, for our general elections – the PM advises the President on the date “within three months after dissolution of Parliament.” We must have laws that are not only for the political advantage of the government in office. One day, they too may be in opposition, under the same political disadvantage. Could you imagine seeing PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar sending Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles and the PNM into an unsettling guessing-game in 2030? The use and abuse of state assets and projects for election campaigns have always been a heated political controversy. On one hand, a government naturally feels, as an election approaches, that it has a right to show what it has achieved – the buildings, roads, stadiums, etc. On the other hand, since it is taxpayers’ money that was used, and a level playing field is required for fair and free elections, the practice gives undue advantage to incumbency, that is, the government if office. Early this year, the PNM, with high-profile satisfaction, officially “opened” part of the Port of Spain General Hospital. That was obviously part of the party’s preparation for the April general election. However, from photos shown, large parts of the hospital were unfinished, so, as the UNC loudly asked, why all the fanfare with then-PM Dr Keith Rowley and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh? Regarding the event at the ANR Robinson International Airport, the UNC loudly alleged that the cost so far published by the PNM government was much below the actual cost, and further, that while the airport was “practically completed,” it was not yet functional. The expected date announced by the government for “operational readiness” is March 2026. Last week, in a media interview, I recalled the reports from the two reputable international teams of election observers for the September Guyana elections. Both teams expressed concerns over the ruling People Progressive Party/Civic’s use of “state assets” for their advantage and, as well, over campaign finance. The European Union Observer Mission recommended the PPP/C government “adopt clear and comprehensive campaign rules, including (rules for) the conduct of public officials and for the use of all types of state assets to avoid undue advantage of incumbency.” President Irfaan Ali attacked the mission’s report, calling it “biased.” The Commonwealth Observer Group noted: “The level playing field was distorted by an undue advantage of incumbency, misuse of state resources (and) under-regulated, weakly enforced campaign finance rules.” If our political leaders here are too busy to do it, then let democracy come alive by having the parties’ constituency groups push the reforms required for the country’s democracy. Having a fixed election date, with provisions for emergencies, is a key campaign issue for the THA elections. Having “greater autonomy” also requires fuller democracy. The post Let’s have fixed election dates appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.