— outgoing US ambassador

THE just concluded Local Government Elections (LGEs) were free, fair and credible, said outgoing Ambassador of the United States of America (USA) to Guyana, Perry Holloway.
Holloway, who served as an observer for the elections, said the process was good despite the low voter turnout.

“There would have been a low voter turnout but at the end of the day, democracy won,” said the ambassador during his remarks at a farewell reception for him on Friday evening.
The diplomat commended the government for holding two consecutive LGEs after there would have been none for some 24 years.

Holloway said local government elections are important because it is a foundation for leaders, and the USA for example, is built from the local government level.
“Most of our leaders come from the local government system,” said the ambassador, adding that it could be the same here once the system is maintained.
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) reported a 36 per cent voter turnout at the recently concluded LGEs.

Last Monday, 573,923 persons were deemed eligible to vote across 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs), but according to GECOM, only 208,534 persons, or 36 per cent of the voting population, exercised their franchise to elect their local leaders.
During the March 2016 LGEs, the first in 22 years, approximately 507,633 persons were registered to vote in the mixed system of Proportional Representation (PR) and First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), but only 43 per cent voted.

But low voter turnout aside, GECOM officials said the elections were conducted in a free, fair, transparent and efficient manner. The commission also thanked the staff at its secretariat who contributed to the smooth hosting of the elections.