STRESSING that Local Government Elections (LGE) represent the heart of democracy, President David Granger has said that the APNU+AFC coalition will be contesting all aspects of the March 2016 election, something to which the smaller parties and other groups have objected.Speaking to journalists on Thursday on his weekly programme ‘The Public Interest’, President Granger said, “We have resolved to go into local government elections as a coalition. We created a movement on the 11th May which was accepted by the general public, and this is the form of government they want to see. We will take it to local government elections …not just keep it as a device for general and regional elections. We introduced it because we believe in inclusionary democracy, and if we believe in inclusionary democracy it is a useful tool for democracy. The APNU+AFC will be going into LGE as a coalition,” President Granger affirmed while responding to questions posed by the panel of two journalists.

Asked to specifically state which aspect of the elections the coalition would be contesting, the President said that has not yet been determined.

“What we have determined is that, as far as possible, we will allow the local residents to decide how they’d like to contest the elections…but, generally, we will be contesting neighbourhoods and municipalities as a coalition. That is our general position.”

He said the coalition is prepared to “listen to the demands of communities” in keeping with the spirit of democracy.

Following announcement of the holding of LGE in March, many have opined that the major political parties need to make way for persons from the grassroots level to contest and thereby represent their constituents.
Mark Benschop, who intends to contest the LGE, said major political parties should not seek to dominate the platform at LGE.

Benschop said, “Major political parties should not seek to split the votes of independent parties or persons contesting the LGE.” He believes that major political parties should throw support behind parties such as his. “Team Benschop is calling on the major political parties to support us… we want the government to throw its weight behind Team Benschop, to ensure that we make the necessary changes,” he said.

Benschop believes that, should ‘big’ political parties decide to contest the elections, it would be an insult to groups or persons who want to contest as well. He said it would be seen as major parties “basically trampling on the rights of those individuals.”

General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, believes the involvement of the people in the communities is the thrust of LGE. “Local government is about involvement of the people and about harnessing the cultural and economic spirit at the grassroots level so that the people in the community can be represented,” he said in an article published by this newspaper on December 6 last year.

Lewis said it is known that community members are supportive of various political parties, and, as such, their leaders should not be representative of those parties.

“To allow these political representatives to run for local government is to allow tribalism, where people will fight for turf and influence of the political parties at the central level.”

He admonishes the people not to let politicians take up every space in their society. LGE, he said, should be contested by regular citizens who are politically neutral and have a genuine interest in the affairs of the common man. If this fails to happen, Lewis suggests, the notion of democracy would not be realized, especially at the level of the grassroots.

In a letter to the editor dated November 29 and published in the Kaieteur News, Working People’s Alliance (WPA) member Tacuma Ogunseye reminded of the party’s position that “political parties should not contest local elections.” Despite the party’s position on the matter, Ogunseye, in his letter, said, “Our position remains unchanged. Since the WPA is an integral part of the APNU and the government, we will be supportive of the collective decision on this matter.”
Meanwhile, The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has said it has begun to identify potential candidates to contest the elections based on a 50 per cent ratio of non-party members appearing on the list of representatives. The party’s General Secretary, Clement Rohee, had said in November: “We have our machinery in place; we have our technical and political machinery in place. We are involved in the claims and objections period also; we are involved in identifying candidates on the basis of a 50/50 split to stand as persons that will contest the elections at the various levels. That is the job that is going on right now.”

Consultations
Notwithstanding the views of some, President Granger has said the coalition has consulted with its supporters and the consensus is that the coalition will be contesting the elections as a unit. “The people have been consulted and this is the response we have gotten from the six political parties. We have had consultations, and I would say (that) in keeping with the results of the elections, we represent a broad cross-section of Guyanese society. This is what the people want. We are not behaving like a government; we are behaving like a political entity which is responsive to the views and feelings of the public.”

The President said the coalition is “giving the people what they want.”

“If the people want to go through their political parties, which they know and trust, we allow them to do that; that is democracy,” the President added.

The President was quick to state that if the people feel it wise for the parties in the coalition to contest LGE individually, then so be it. “They can go on their own. We have not prevented or obstructed any person or any group to stand as an independent or go on their own. We are not corralling people into the parties, but the majority of people who have been consulted within those six parties want us to participate in LGE as a coalition.”

The coalition has submitted its symbol to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). The President, who is also the leader of the People’s National Congress (PNC), said he cannot prevent those in his party from wanting to contest the LGE as a political party.

“If they come to me and say they’d like to go in as a civic group, I’d say good, go ahead; but it is a democratic organ to choose, and some people chose the party.

LGE, he stressed, is the heart of democracy, and it enables neighbourhoods, communities, municipalities to run their own affairs.

“Look at the difference in the city of Georgetown between what happened when the old administration inflicted a town clerk who operated against the wishes of the councillors and after the 11th May, when that town clerk was replaced by someone who was supported by the councillors. The city was transformed because there was greater trust between the municipality and the central government, and between the people and the municipality.”

Additionally, the President said LGE is very important, as persons who are placed in local offices would not be inflicted or imposed, but elected.

Meanwhile, political parties, groups, or persons interested in contesting LGE have up to January 5 to submit their applications for approval of symbols to contest the elections. Nomination Day is scheduled for January 26.

By Ariana Gordon