By Ravin Singh

MARK Lyte was on Sunday re-elected to serve as President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), having beaten his opponent Milne Seymour by a landslide.Lyte, who replaced former President Colin Bynoe as the head of the union in 2014, secured 2418 votes at this year’s election, while Seymour gained 728. A total of 3174 votes were cast.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle last evening, the returning President said he was pleased with the electoral process, which he believes was “free and fair”.

“The electoral process was free and fair and above board…. Everything was clear, and to my knowledge people did not have difficulty in understanding the ballot,” he said.

Lyte also explained that the ballots were distributed in a timely manner, and this is the kind of culture the union intends to preserve in its electoral process.

Commenting on the voter turnout, which was estimated at 49 per cent, the GTU President said that although this figure is below half the total amount, it represents an increase of more than 600 votes compared to the last elections.

Seven of the other eight persons who were elected to serve as executive members had been re-elected. Among these are Sumantha Alleyne (Treasurer); Jacquelyn Douglas (Deputy General Secretary); Coretta McDonald (General Secretary); Julian Cambridge (Second Vice President); Lesmeine Collins (First Vice President); Mark Lyte (President); Desiree Vanlewin, Regional Vice President, Essequibo; and Donnette D’Andrade, Regional Vice President, Berbice. Newcomer Collis Nicholson was elected as Regional Vice President for Demerara.

According to Lyte, the re-election of most of these persons shows the confidence the membership has in them.

“This election shows that members of the union have reinvested their confidence in us, and we will take this as a message to continue to fight for the rights of teachers across Guyana. We want everyone to know that we are not here to represent those who voted for us alone. We are here to serve all teachers, and we will continue to fight long and hard for all forms of benefits for them,” the president said.

Lyte, a well-known Berbician, began his teaching career in 1990, but migrated to St Vincent and the Grenadines to study Theology in 1991. Having graduated, he returned to Guyana in 1993 and started to work part-time at the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary School for three years.
He became a full-time teacher at the Corentyne Comprehensive High School in 1995, where he taught for 11 years; after which he was promoted to Head of Department at the JC Chandisingh Secondary in Berbice.

He is also holder of a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education.
The father of two was promoted to the post of Deputy Head Teacher of Tutorial Secondary in 2012, and worked at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) as a lecturer.

Notably, he has also been the pastor of the Rose Hall Christian Church since 1993.