IF IT was not clear to me before, the Local Government Elections (LGEs) managed to successfully illustrate key issues and misconceptions in our local governance.
The biggest bugbear for me was the low voter turnout. Yes, I understand that generally, fewer persons are inclined to these elections than they are to the general elections but I cannot understand why.
In Georgetown- Guyana’s capital- the voters’ turnout was 28.3 percent. The city is a heavily populated area in Guyana and to have less than 30 percent of the people turn out to vote, is worrying.
I was speaking to a friend in Trinidad about the elections and when I told her about the low voter turnout in Georgetown, the first conclusion she made was that people were not satisfied with the candidates and would not even bother coming out to vote. I don’t disagree with her.
Deterrence to voting in Guyana, among my age demographic at least, is the entrenched system of ‘party’ and ‘race-based’ politics. From my understanding of the LGEs however, there is the unique opportunity to vote independently since it’s on a much smaller scale.
From perusing the Guyana Election Commission (GECOM)’s preliminary report on the results across Guyana, the Profit/Rising Sun Local Authority Area (LAA) in Region Five was the only area where a majority of independent candidates were given a chance to represent their community as against those in the major political parties [the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)].
Knowing that members of the community stepped up to show that they wanted to work for the best interest of their constituencies and that the people trusted them enough to elect them, I couldn’t be happier.
There are 80 LAAs across Guyana, however, and Profit/ Rising Sun stuck out like a sore thumb in results that were almost entirely defined by Guyana’s larger parties.
I would say that the people continue to have faith in these parties or their loyalty is strong. And each person has the right to choose and to vote based on their beliefs. And if that’s what the people vote, that’s what the people want- because that is how democracy works.
But in this case, it does not necessarily mean that the people want those who have been elected to represent them. Some of the people do- the ones that came out to vote for them. But those that stayed away have to contend with representatives that they did not vote for because they did not turn out to vote. That is all there really is to it.
Another bugbear is that many persons have yet to grasp the concept of local governance and LGEs. People still believe that at the end of these elections, there will be an overall ‘winner’. They believe that by voting for Party X, they are voting to enable this party to govern the entire country as against their smaller constituencies.
Education is vital. People need to understand the critical nature of these elections and the role they play in developing their communities. These elections have a direct impact on a community’s infrastructure and people.
What exacerbates how saddened I am by this misconception is that voters have shared with me personally, that representatives from the established political parties are exploiting people because of these misconceptions. One man in Region Five shared that voters in his area were told to vote for a particular party because independent candidates would not be able to represent them adequately.
Once elected to the council, each person has a say and the council is given a determined amount of requisite resources. It baffles me how some persons can stoop to the level of misguiding people to garner votes. It just baffles me.
Perhaps, however, now that it is apparent that local government elections have returned and will be held consistently, I am confident that persons will eventually learn more and be able to safeguard from these misconceptions.
After almost an entire generation would have grown up without these elections being held, however, I’ll concede that it will take some time for us to get it right. Rome was not built in a day. We have already taken a step in the right direction by fostering the return of these elections.
One day I know that the firm grasp the major political parties have on Guyanese will loosen. I know that with each passing election, fewer people are voting on racial lines and more on policies and development. And I know my people are becoming wiser and more headstrong. I truly believe that as it relates to governance, better is already on its way.
