-Preliminary results show virtual tie

By Navendra Seoraj in Lethem
A SLOW start for the Local Government Elections (LGEs) in Lethem ended fairly well as 51 per cent of the voting population turned out to cast their votes.

According to preliminary results from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), there were some 2,612 registered voters and of that number, 1,334 persons turned out to vote before the close of polls at 18:00hrs on Monday.

Throughout the day, persons were trickling in to cast their votes at the eight polling stations which were located in the five constituencies of Lethem. Persons said the voting process was transparent, simple and straightforward, although some of them were nervous because it was their first time voting.

Young Dwayne Frank said the voting process was very simple and straightforward , although he was nervous. Voting for him was important because he believes it was one of the ways he would contribute to the continued development of the municipality.

“I will continue to vote because we are always looking for betterment and we need to vote for people who will bring development,” said Frank. Catherina Joseph, another young voter, said she was eager to exercise her democratic right. It was her second time voting at the LGE which is supposed to be conducted every three years

Incumbent Mayor of Lethem, Kerry Jarvis, who is a representative of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), said he was confident that he will be victorious in constituency five.
Jarvis said his party did a lot to educate voters, so although they did not expect a 100 per cent turnout, they hoped that most persons would make it their duty to vote.

Based on the results from GECOM, there was a close run in most of the constituencies. In Constituency One, APNU’s Youlanda Richmond- Moffett got 117 votes; People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)’s John Fredericks secured 83 votes and the Alliance for Change (AFC) candidate, Ryan Alcides got 40 votes.

In Constituency Three, PPP/C’s John Macedo secured 193 votes while APNU’s Wendella Franklin got 129 votes; AFC’s Lilian Joseph-Cumberbatch got 38.
Over in Constituency Four, APNU’s Olive Atkinson D’Aguiar won with 114 votes; PPP/C’s Megan Thomas got 83 and AFC’s Ahrens Landry secured 45 votes.

Meanwhile, in Constituency Five, incumbent Mayor Kerry Jarvis got 57 votes while PPP/C’s Jason Wilson secured 79 votes. The Guyana Chronicle was unable to receive information from Constituency Two.

In the Proportional Representation Category, the PPP/C got three seats with 676 votes and APNU won two seats with 528 votes. In 2016, the APNU+AFC coalition, which contested the LGEs together, got 662 votes while the PPP/C secured 457 votes, giving the parties three and two seats respectively.