…AFC picks up two seats, PPP one

THE A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) political party has tightened their grip on the Linden municipality recording an astounding victory with a clean sweep of all eight constituencies and five of the Proportional Representation (PR) seats.

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) grabbed two seats in the municipality while the Alliance For Change picked up one. The margin of victory for APNU was also decisive raking in over 2000 votes more than AFC. APNU collected in total 3606 votes. The PPP managed little over 400 votes throughout the eight constituencies. The United Republican Party (URP) secured a meagre 49 votes.

Commenting on the party’s victory was outgoing Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arindell, who said she is happy for the continuous overwhelming support from the electorate of Linden. “I am grateful that the town continued to garner support from the residents of Linden, we would have done exceptionally well, and we are now ready to work. I know that the turnout was poor but next time around we will work more effectively to let persons understand the importance of LGE and voting.” Relative to her re-election as her constituency representative, she said, “I am happy that I have been re-elected in my community and I will continue to serve selflessly.”

Voter turnout
APNU party members noted that the party would have won all 16 seats if there was a larger voter turnout. There was reportedly 2000 less voters turning out this year compared to 2016. A total of 5132 voters came out in Linden back in 2016. The APNU candidates who will take up seats in the Council for Constituencies One to Eight respectively are: Lawrence Simon, Stephen Massiah, Leroy James, outgoing Deputy Mayor Waineright Bethune, outgoing Mayor Waneka Arindell, Lorna Calvan, Fern McKoy and Gary King. James, Bethune; Arindell and McKoy are returning councillors. These candidates were elected after constituency primaries were held some months ago. The APNU was the only party to hold primaries in Linden.

In an invited comment, Lawrence Simon of Amelia’s Ward said that he was not surprised by his landslide victory since he and his team would have put in the groundwork through an aggressive door to door campaign and he would have interacted with a lot of the residents, hearing their plea for development. “I am overwhelmed, I am happy that I would have won my constituency, it shows that persons believe in the plans I put forth, they are workable and I look forward to working with the councillors and stakeholders to develop Linden holistically. I feel, comfortable, confident to put forth my service now, to execute, so we can make Constituency One a model constituency and make Linden a model town for the rest of Guyana to pattern after,” he said.

McKoy was very confident that she would have won her constituency, as she would have selflessly pushed for development, over the last three years in the various communities. She described herself as a go-getter and being proactive as helped her in making representation on behalf of her residents which is not only limited at Council, but at whatever forum she gets the chance to.

AFC satisfied
AFC campaign manager Audwin Rutherford reportedly told the media that he is satisfied with the two seats won by his party. Efforts to contact a PPP representative proved futile.
Roads, Waste management major concerns for residents

As the new council prepares to be sworn in, residents of Linden are calling on them to focus on infrastructural development within the communities, more importantly the construction of roads, bridges and drains. While the council made some headway on tackling waste management, several communities continue to suffer in this regard, still having to pay a private waste management company to collect their garbage regularly.

Leroy Barry of Amelia’s Ward and his wife voted early as they believe the continued process of democracy at the municipal level must go on. “I am here this morning to exercise my franchise and to select representatives who I think would represent me in my area effectively, the reason I came out and put my ‘X’, is because I want to see infrastructural development, the roads especially, that is why I decided to come out and ensure that I see development in my area,” he said Monday.

He added that youths are calling for the new councillors to look into employment opportunities and to make representation for recreational facilities within their constituencies so that they can be meaningfully employed. At the Linden Foundation Secondary School in Constituency One, was 18-year-old Reniah DaSilva of Amelia’s Ward, who said that she felt it was her mission to vote for the first time since youths need to let their voices be heard through voting.

“When we vote, people representing our community will see to the needs of youths and see that we need job opportunities, recreational facilities and other opportunities to develop ourselves, so I feel really good coming out and vote this morning,” she said.

The new council will inherit a large amount of debt which the outgoing one also inherited but was unable to clear. Arindell said that the council did make strides in putting systems in place to effectively repay the debts as well as successfully improved and strengthened the administrative arm of the council.