THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has raised concerns about the newly added Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and the reduced number of constituencies, noting that the party is yet to be formally notified about the changes and demarcations.
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan had announced that with Mahdia being a new town and the establishment of eight (NDCs), there would be 80 local authorities as opposed to 71 in 2016.

Chief Whip of the PPP/C, Gail Teixeira said the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is yet to inform them about the demarcations.

“This is causing serious delays in commencing and finalising the identification of Candidates and Backers for the 2018 LGE… the geographic identity of the proposed constituents remains unknown,” she said, during a press conference on Monday.

Although the party is yet to get the list, they believe that the demarcation was wrongfully done because residents were not consulted before the decision was taken.
The PPP/C believes that persons need to be sensitised about the changes so that there would be a smooth flow on the day of the elections.

Executive Secretary of the PPP Zulficar Mustapha said, members of the party had met with GECOM and expressed those concerns, adding that they even suggested that security markers be placed on all requisite forms to be used as part of the process on November 11.
Despite the challenges, the PPP believes that they are ready for the upcoming Local Government Election (LGE) which is set for November 11, 2018.

“The PPP is very prepared for the upcoming elections and convinced that the party will once again have a strong showing at the local polls,” said the chief whip.

Local Government Election was successfully completed in Guyana, after a 22-year delay, on Friday, March 18, 2016. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has been allocated some $2.9B for the holding of the election, which will be constitutionally due between the beginning of November and early December this year.

The 2016 LGE saw 43 per cent participation. However, the government has set a higher target for 2018.