THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is reminding all parties, groups and individuals contesting Local Government Elections (LGEs) 2018 to submit their symbols for approval before Nomination Day on September 21, 2018.

In a newspaper advertisement, GECOM said contestants in outlying Local Authority Areas (LAAs) can submit their symbols to GECOM’s registration office in their area.
“All political parties, voluntary groups and individuals who are desirous of contesting local government elections to be held on 12th November, 2018, are required to submit a symbol for approval by the Guyana Elections Commission before Nomination Day,” the advertisement stated.

Meanwhile, applications for symbols, which must include both printed and electronic versions of the respective symbols, must be submitted to GECOM no later than August 29, 2018.

Any list of candidates submitted by any political party, voluntary group or individual candidate on Nomination Day without the pre-approved symbol will be deemed defective and the defaulting political party, voluntary group or individual candidate will be deemed ineligible to contest the Local Government Elections,” GECOM warned.
The elections commission ahead of election day also provided information on requirements for the submission of the list of candidates.

It outlined that political parties or groups must contest all seats for the Proportional Representation component and must submit a list of candidates with 10 additional names apart from the total number of councillors for the Municipality or Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

In addition, only the names of candidates qualified to be councillors equal to the number of constituency seats which it intends to contest in LGEs must be submitted, while the name of an independent candidate can only be submitted for the seat he or she is contesting.
GECOM outlined, too, that each list of candidate must be submitted on the prescribed form indicating name, address, ID number and occupation of each candidate and the names of candidates should be one below the other with surnames in alphabetical order.
Meanwhile, the signature mark of each nominator must be stated together with the name and the ID card number and each list of candidates must be accompanied by a declaration, on the prescribed form, from each candidate contesting the election.

The commission is asking those participating to note that a candidate’s name can only appear on one Proportional Representation list and on only one constituency list for only one voluntary group or political party.

Also, a candidate’s name cannot appear for more than one voluntary group or political party on a Proportional Representation list or constituency list.

If a candidate is elected on a Proportional Representation list and the constituency list of a political party or voluntary group, he or she can only be appointed to one seat as a Council Member of the Municipality or NDC.

Finally, each candidate for a Proportional Representation list must be a registered voter and a resident in the specific local authority area.

GECOM intends to continue its sensitisation measures leading up to Election Day by addressing nominators for lists of candidates in the following week.
This year’s LGEs will see eight new NDCs being formed as well as a new town with the participating order already in the process of being gazetted, according to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan.

These will ensure that central government can provide support to townships and local government organs as these collectively work towards national development.
The ministry is also doing its part in sensitising the public through the launch of a public awareness and stakeholder education project, aimed at ensuring that more participate in the Local Government Elections this year.