MINISTER of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, has said that Nomination Day is an important step in the evolution of democratic governance in Guyana.
“We are having nominations for participation in Local Government Elections that will be held on November 12, 2018, and it will mark the first time in the post-independent history of Guyana, that successive Local Government Elections are being held as legally or constitutionally due,” the Communities Minister told reporters, even as he observed Nomination Day proceedings at the Critchlow Labour College in Georgetown on Friday.
He said that while Local Government Elections were held in 1994, the councils that came into existence were not allowed to execute their legal and constitutional responsibilities, and were simply there for “cosmetic value.”
“What it resulted in and led to, is that those councils were starved of resources, and they were under-resourced, so they lack the capacity to be able to discharge the responsibilities that they were entrusted with – the management and development of their respective communities,” Minister Bulkan explained.
He said it is important to note that the attitude of control which was displayed under the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been removed, and replaced with a philosophy of cooperation and collaboration.
The Communities Minister, in commenting on the performance of the municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) over the past two years, admitted that the system is far from perfect, but noted that progress has been made.
“I would be the first to admit that the system is far from perfect, that there exist and persist considerable deficiencies and defects in the operations and management of those councils. One of the points I have always been at pains to outline, is that the rehabilitation and restoration of this system which was subject to enormous pressure over an extended period of time, councils that would have had their capacities so damaged and degraded, that they had largely become dysfunctional, that that restoration job would not be an overnight one,” he explained.
He emphasised that the plethora of problems facing local government organs across the country would take time to address, as well as a considerable amount of resources. Just this week, Cabinet approved a number of recommendations that were put forward at the National Conference of Local Democratic Organs. One such recommendation is the increase in salaries and stipends for local leaders functioning at the level of the councils.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson told the press that the commission would be accelerating its awareness campaign ahead of the November 12 Local Government Elections.
“We hope to edify the general population and their electorate on how to vote and to some extent, why you should vote. People take voting for granted, exercising their franchise for granted, but we are trying to educate them,” he explained.
Justice (Ret’d) Patterson reminded media operatives that it is GECOM’s objective to facilitate free and fair elections. “We do not look at colours, party or otherwise, we have a job to do, and that we will do, to the best we can,” he assured reporters.
Though this is the first election that he would oversee as Chairman of GECOM, he said the commission has learnt from mistakes of the past, and as such, it is not likely that there would be recurrences. “We have learnt from the errors of the past and we’re building on that.”
With the necessary systems being put in place to facilitate free and fair elections, the chairman is encouraging registered voters to seize the opportunity on polling day.
“Come out in droves…exercise your franchise, and be as peaceful as you could. We want to have free and fair elections here, which way they go is no concern of ours,” he said. The GECOM chairman also observed Nomination Day proceedings at the Critchlow Labour College.
A total of 61 political parties, voluntary groups and individuals were expected to submit nominations to contest in the 80 Local Authority Areas for the upcoming Local Government Elections. Of the total, seven are political parties, 21 are voluntary groups and 33 are individual candidates.
