…concedes more voter education needs to be done

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has pegged voter turnout for the 2018 Local Government Elections (LGEs) at 36 per cent.
Last Monday, 573,923 persons were deemed eligible to vote across 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs), but according to GECOM, only 208,534 persons, or 36 per cent of the voting population, exercised their franchise to elect their local leaders.
“I find it very disturbing,” GECOM Chairman Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson said Friday as he reflected on the just-concluded polls.

He was at the time addressing a news conference in the company of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; Deputy CEO (DCEO) Roxanne Myers; and Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward at GECOM’s Headquarters.
According to Justice Patterson, whilst there is an apparent “apathy” amongst the electorate, he is, however, optimistic that voter-turnout will get better with time.

During the March 2016 LGEs, the first in 22 years, approximately 507,633 persons were registered to vote in the mixed system of Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), but only 43 per cent exercised that franchise back then.
Statistical data provided by GECOM for the 2018 elections has shown that of the 10 municipal towns, Linden had the lowest showing of voters. Of the more than 26,000 voters listed, just a meager 5,221 or 20 per cent of the voting population showed up to cast their ballots. Linden also recorded the lowest voter-turnout for the entire country.

Here in Georgetown, the largest municipality, voter-turnout was pegged at 24 per cent, with only 28,976 of the 119,374 voting population participating in the process.
With a voting population of 14,068, New Amsterdam also recorded a less-than-50-per cent voter-turnout. According to statistics, just 4,068 persons, or 29 per cent of the voter population came out to vote at this year’s LGEs in New Amsterdam.

The other municipalities with voting populations ranging from 10,804 to 1,243, also had less than 50 per cent of their populations voting, with the exception of Mabaruma, which recorded a 60 per cent voter-turnout, followed by Lethem with 52 per cent. However, Mabaruma only has a voting population of 3,021, while Lethem’s stands at 2,612.
The other towns are Anna Regina (44%), Rose Hall (48%), Corriverton (42%), Bartica (40%) and Mahdia (36%).

POOR SHOWING
In response to the extremely low showing at the just-concluded elections, Justice Patterson made it clear that the Commission was in no way to be blamed for that.
“GECOM cannot be blamed for voter apathy; we have done our best,” Justice Patterson declared.

He was stoutly supoorted by the CEO ans well as the DCEO, who both said that GECOM’s mandate is to conduct General and Regional Elections as well as LGEs, and that as such it is responsible for Civic and Voter Education. But that does not include explaining the importance of LGEs to local democracy, particularly where the management of municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) is concerned. That responsibility, they said, lies with the Ministry of Communities, the political parties and civil groups.

“As far as GECOM is concerned,” DCEO Myers explained, “our Civic and Voter Education focuses on the technical and the procedural aspects of how a voter should vote; what they should know technically; what voluntary groups and parties should know for Nomination Day and for the submission of symbols and those are the kinds of things that we focus on.
“When it comes to inspiration of the electorate or to treat with any sort of apathy, I don’t believe that that’s within our remit.”

She emphasised that there are two components to the Civic and Voter Education, namely the technical aspect, for which GECOM is responsible. The other, she said, is the responsibility of the Ministry of Communities, political parties, civil groups and individuals.
Over at Congress Place where the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) held a joint press conference, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally said Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan is not to be blamed for there not being enough voter education.

NOT BULKAN’S FAULT
“No blame should be laid at Minister Bulkan,” she said. “This coalition did what it had to do in terms of voter education all across the country. And we didn’t have to have Minister Bulkan going to the various regions.
“We had a cadre of trainers, and in all the regions, we’ve had this cadre taking the message; training the people in the various local.

But I must say that it is going to take some time for us to undo the 22 years that PPP had us under; and I’m sure in time to come, we are going to achieve that and you watch it, 2020-landslide!”
She also made the point that the poor showing at the recent elections was not centralised, but rather spread across the country in all then LAAs.

“It is not only in Linden or Georgetown,” she said. “It is across the country. This country did not have Local Government Elections for 22 years, and it has been virtually wiped out.
“This coalition government reintroduced it in 2016; the people of this country have not yet grown accustomed to Local Government Elections.

“It is a hard task for us, because it is a long time; 22 years versus three years to break into the electorate that this local democracy will benefit them.”
Over at the GECOM Secretariat, the Chief Elections Officer said there is a lesson to be learnt from the response to the Local Government Elections.

“I think the lesson to be drawn from this conduct is that we are operating with some laws that need to be reviewed, and no doubt our own recommendations will strive to ensure that, legislatively, there are some changes that makes the whole functionality pretty easy for all to participate meaningfully,” Lowenfield said.

But low voter-turnout aside, GECOM officials said the elections were conducted in a free, fair, transparent and efficient manner. They also used the platform to thank their staff at the secretariat who contributed to the elections being well-run. The Guyana Police Force was also singled out for safeguarding the ballot boxes and other election materials while they were being transported from location to location.