Finally, the date is set for our first Local Government Election in 22 years. This announcement must be seen as a breakthrough. The coalition government has kept its promise. This is no small matter; the previous government had failed Guyana in this regard. It kept postponing these elections as part of its grand design to have total control of the levers of power at all levels. For that government, local government was not about empowerment of ordinary people in their places of residence, but about the cynical monopolisation of power.This new government has made it clear that it wants to take the country in an opposite direction. Very early in its tenure it passed the necessary reform legislation which were held up by President Ramotar’s veto. These pieces of legislation have gone a long way towards democratising the local government system and crucially the relationship between local government councils and Central Government. The latter was non-negotiable for the PPP which preferred the Central Government tyranny over local government. That such an arrangement defeats the purpose of local empowerment did not move the PPP.
Now that we are headed in another direction, the country must rise to the occasion. Elections are only effective when electors participate in them. It has always been a challenge to get electorates to vote in local elections at the same level as they do in national elections.
Given the extent to which the councils which came into being in 1994 have been broken and compromised, it is important that these elections throw up a representative system of local government that responds to the dire need for self-representation by the masses of Guyanese people.
Our Westminster system of governance tends to be too centralised, power is concentrated at the top among politicians representing one party. Such a system limits access to government and denies citizens a more direct say in what happens in their local communities. In the end democracy is compromised as those who are affected by decisions do not actually participate in making those decisions. Our own Caribbean thinker, Arthur Lewis, gave us this seminal definition of democracy in his advocacy of power sharing at the national level.
Local government is essentially power sharing—the sharing of governance by the leaders at the top and the people at the bottom. This vertical power sharing allows for a sharing of the burdens of governance that if effectively used can open up needed space for mass participation in the political process. It also allows for more accountability as both levels of government become a watchdog of the other.
The upcoming elections would be conducted under a reformed system. This necessitates a fair bit of education among the populace both as voters and candidates. GECOM has its work cut out. But other NGO’s have a role to play in this regard. Critically, the media must also play a role. Perhaps the media entities should consider donating space and time for Public Service Announcements aimed at such education and consciousness-raising about the importance of local government.
No doubt, the political parties would be using the elections to test their respective strengths and to go after each other. The governing coalition would be under the microscope by both the PPP and its own supporters. Ethnicity will emerge as it inevitably does at election time. But in the end we hope that the country gains from the exercise and our democratic credentials are enhanced. The next four months would once again test our mettle as a nation.