…nomination process smooth, candidates upbeat

MAJOR political parties in Guyana dominated the nomination process in Local Authority Areas (LAAs) along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) with many eager to speak of the plans and changes they have in store for residents.

Friday marked Nomination Day for Local Government Elections (LGEs) set for November 12 and political parties with approved symbols submitted their lists of candidates to requisite returning officers (ROs) countrywide.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited Industry/Plaisance, a smooth process was recorded with nominations placed by three political parties and one voluntary group. It was conveyed that representatives from the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) party camped out at the NDC at Dorcas Club on Public Road, Sparendaam, ECD, since Thursday night with aims of securing the first spot in the process.

“We’ve been working very hard. All our constituency reps are on board, our PR representatives are also on board and we’re here today to submit our list. We have been here very early this morning and so we’re going to be the first to submit and we’re very happy about that,” APNU representative Carol Benn said.

She added that the APNU is putting forward a very strong team in the area which she is confident will put its best foot forward with building a community recreational centre and upgrading of the the market on the to-do list.

Addressing why citizens should choose the party, another representative said: “We have very structured plans. We’ve broken our plans up into quite a few areas representing both the needs of the constituency, which start from early childhood development; facilities for adolescent development and facilities all the way up to our geriatrics, because we know that they are very important.”

Present too, since the early hours of the morning, was the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) party which found itself second in line in the process. “What matters to us is our community. We need to see development, real development, not fighting or anything else. Drainage, garbage collection and a few other issues that we have, also burial ground cleaning, roads [are what we hope to address],” the party’s representative Robert Ramdass said.

He highlighted the PPP’s confidence in moving forward, adding: “We are fighting to make our community a better place and by doing so, residents will be happy.”
The AFC also saw their documents collected and stamped by Returning Officer (RO) Kreslyon Ogle.

Farther down at the Better Hope/ La Bonne Intention LAA, there were submissions from the APNU and PPP and the workers there reported a smooth process.

However, up to the time the Guyana Chronicle departed in the morning, other political parties had not yet showed up.

Similarly, at the Beterverwagting/Triumph LAA, both the PPP and APNU delivered their necessary candidates on time.

Later at Mon Repos/La Reconnaissance at the Lusignan Community Centre, PPP Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall showed up with quite a few supporters to complete the nomination process.

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj told the Chronicle that submissions had also come from the APNU, but at this time, close to 12hrs, there were no representatives from the AFC.
All the way to Buxton/Foulis, the two major political parties, the PPP and the AFC registered their candidates at the Coldingen Annex, while three independent candidates were also present.

There, PPP Election Agent Suresh Singh complained that the nomination process was moving slowly and highlighted what he believes were glitches in the process.
“We came and we had one discrepancy and we went and got it rectified and we’re here. It had been kind of slow, not only for me, but for the APNU guys as well. After submission, they got a call to state that they had a discrepancy, after submission, and shouldn’t be…during the process of accepting it we should find the fault,” Singh said.

He added that the process for political parties was taking about one hour, while independent candidates would remain with the RO for some 20 minutes.

Nonetheless, he told the Chronicle of the plans his party has to address the issues such as roads and the repairing of schools.

“In Vigilance, about 40 feet or 50 feet off the main road in Access Road you will find two huge holes that cars can fit…it shows that there is poor management and we’re hoping with good strategy and campaigning we will be winning the Local Government Elections,” he said.

Singh is confident that even in the APNU+AFC strongholds, the PPP has begun to gain momentum and additional support.

“Persons are coming here because they see a better deal, they see we want to get the work done, we want a happier village, a happier community…youths shouldn’t wait for tomorrow or for the future, they should come out today and play their part now,” he urged.

At Enmore/Hope, there were submissions from the APNU, PPP and AFC.
Speaking with AFC representative Venna Andrews, she said that some of the main issues the party hopes to address pertain to garbage collection, education and land-titling matters.

Meanwhile, at the Unity/Vereeniging NDC, there were no individual or group candidates but the AFC, APNU and PPP political parties all submitted their candidates for nomination.
Both the candidate going forward, Theon Bourne and Deputy Bhoj Tharay spoke with the newspaper on the sidelines.

They relayed that the process went smoothly with the help of the GECOM staff and are now eager to better address concerns in the area, should they be successful.

“We have a lot of work to be done for the residents, such as the cleaning of drains, infrastructural work and the question of employment for youths and youth development,” Tharay stated.

Bourne added: “We have a lot of school dropouts in the area and we have an ICT centre in the community that was built since the previous regime, but it hasn’t been used until now. So, one of the key aspects of us running for our constituency is for us to get that ICT centre up and running for all our school dropouts, so that they can be educated.”

In encouraging persons to vote, Bourne, a 28-year-old said seeing that he, a young man, has been selected to run for the constituency, it tells that change can come from the youngest of persons.