LOCAL Government Elections (LGE) are expected to be held in the last quarter of 2018 and Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan said the authorities are hoping for citizen participation to climb above 50 per cent.

He was at the time speaking at a press briefing at Herdmanston Lodge on Thursday in the presence of agency heads of his Ministry.

According to the minister, in the 2016 Local Government Elections, the overall participation figure stood at 43 per cent. He said while the 50 per cent figure may seem low, a similar figure occurs in terms of local elections in other jurisdictions.

In the 2018 National Budget, an allocation to facilitate the holding of the elections was made to the tune of $2.9B, which Bulkan described as a “huge investment”.
He said it represents an “equivocal commitment and determination by this administration to ensure that there is democratic governance”.

As regards the date of the elections, Minister Bulkan said it will be held during municipal and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils’ (NDCs) elections. These elections will be held between the end of November and December 7.

He said there is no specific timeframe regarding municipalities. According to him, the intention is to harmonise the legislation that seeks to allow for the holding of the municipal elections at the same time of the NDCs as provided under the Local Government Act.

The minister noted that it is the responsibility of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to undertake voter awareness campaigns regarding the elections.

He stated too that the ministry will continue with public education campaign on the constitutional and legal provisions of the local government organs.

He admitted that there is still a “great degree” of a lack of understanding of the responsibility of the local organs. This is still a mindset that Central Government is responsible for the conditions with communities, he noted.

Recounting the work of the Ministry in 2017, Minister Bulkan said institutional strengthening and capacity-building, as well as financial security of councils are paramount on the Ministry’s agenda.

In this regard, he said that among the gains of 2017 was the establishment of the Local Government Commission. The order that led to the establishment and the commencement of the functions of the body was also issued late last year.

The Guyana Association of Municipalities was resuscitated and there was also the hosting of a mayoral conference in 2017, as well as training seminars in financial management and administration within local councils.