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MEDIA RELEASE - July 21st, 2023

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CAMPAIGN COMMITMENTS AND PROHIBITED CONDUCT FOR THE 2023 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION

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As the campaign for the August 14, 2023 poll approaches its final 3 weeks, Political parties, candidates and supporters are reminded that a Code of Ethical Political Conduct which has been endorsed by the leadership of several parties, wherein they committed to:

  • Maintaining the highest moral principles and ethical standards with respect to their conduct during the campaign

  • Promoting and enforcing respect, tolerance, harmony and peace amongst their supporters and the general public during the campaign

  • Refraining from practices that promote divisiveness in the Society and commit to the removal of any structures which reinforce divisiveness

 

In adopting these commitments, the leadership also agreed that certain activities/conduct could undermine our democracy and were deemed to be ‘Prohibited Conduct’ during a campaign. Amongst such activities/conduct which are considered to be prohibited and SHOULD NOT be employed in the campaign are:

  • The offering of inducements or rewards to join or not to join a Party or to attend or not to attend public meetings, rallies, or other public political event

  • Discriminating on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, class, religion or belief

  • Making false or defamatory allegations in print or speech in connection with an election in respect of a Party, its Candidates, representatives or members

  • Using language or acting in a way that may provoke violence or intimidate others or invite, encourage or foster hatred, resentment or any form of violence

  • Seeking to assassinate the character of or making defamatory comments about any individual, family, professional group or section of the community

  • Defacing, or inducing anyone to unlawfully remove or destroy, or deface the billboards, placards, posters or any other election materials of a Party or Candidate

  • Engaging, recruiting, or deploying any individual(s) for the purpose of violence, intimidation or harassment.

  • The defacing of public or private property and structures

  • Using and/or abusing State resources for political campaigns

  • Indulging in negative campaigning

  • Using funds, be it public or private, to improperly influence electoral choices

  • Criticizing aspects of the private lives of other citizens

 

All of the above strategies are inimical to the Code of Ethical Political Conduct, and The Council for Responsible Political Behaviour thus pleads with all concerned to please reject any attempt to include such activities/behaviours in the campaign.

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The Council is also reminding the Political parties and Candidates that they must exercise a level of responsibility. The Code specifically requests that Political leaders and candidates should ensure that their conduct is above reproach.

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Be that as it may, the Council again invites members of the public to visit its website www.politicalethicstt.org to view the Code it its entirety. While the primary role of the Council is to monitor and evaluate adherence to the Code, in the context of the extensive use of social media, the Council admits to being challenged in effectively monitoring social media, and in this context the Council is appealing to the citizenry at large to please bring to our attention any possible violations of the Code. Reports of such possible violations, along with any possible evidence of the violations should be emailed to the Council at info@politicalethicstt.org.

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Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Council,

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Dr. Bishnu Ragoonath

Chairman

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