–retains presidency; newcomer Mariska Williams elected First Vice-President

MARK Lyte has prevailed over Linden’s Vanessa Kissoon to secure his third re-election as President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU).

According to statistics released by the GTU, Lyte secured 2,751 votes, 647 more than Kissoon, in an election which saw most of the previous executives being re-elected by wide margins.

The primary newcomer was former North Georgetown District Branch Manager Mariska Williams, who secured 3,406 votes to get the nod for the post of first Vice-President. She prevailed over Lemeine Collins who received 1,411 votes.

Coretta McDonald was re-elected to her position as General-Secretary after amassing 2,426 votes for a win over Milne Seymour, who had 1,746 votes, and Dorcel Farley who had 670 votes.

With 3,994 votes, Julian Cambridge returned as the second Vice-President, prevailing over Komal Singh, who had 842 votes.

Heathcliff Peter garnered 1,749 votes to win the post of Deputy General-Secretary, which was the most contested position with five candidates.

Several of the posts saw default wins, due to unopposed nominees. Sumanta Alleyne was the only nominee for the post of treasurer, while Collis Nicholson was unopposed for the position of Vice-President of the Demerara region.

Donnette D’Andrade was unopposed for the Berbice Regional Vice-President position. Rabinauth Boodram is the new Regional Vice-President (Essequibo).

Notwithstanding completion of the counting and announcement of those results, the new executives will be officially declared when the second GTU triennial conference is convened from April 20 – 22.

The GTU elections ran from March 1 to April 15 and saw teachers voting by mailed-in ballots which were distributed across the various schools to teachers who are registered members of the union as of August 2021.

The teachers were issued with the ballots and stamped envelopes to return the ballot. The counting process began on Saturday, April 16, at 08:30hrs, when the post office box was opened, and the contents were then transported to the GTU Headquarters for counting.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Lyte noted his joy at having his re-election confirmed, but noted that he was always confident about a return.

“I’m excited to be re-elected as the president. It shows that teachers continue to have confidence in me to get the job done in being their representative, and to lead a team that will engage the Ministry of Education on the salary and non-salary businesses. I was always confident (about a win). I believe the work you do will go before you and will judge you,” Lyte commented.

Lyte has been at the helm of the GTU for eight years, being first elected to the position in 2014 and subsequently re-elected in 2016 and again in 2019.

Questioned about term limits to address a lack of turnover in the GTU executive, and trade unions on a whole, Lyte noted that there were discussions on a motion for term limits at the GTU. He noted, however, that such a policy would require a change at the level of the constitution.

“That is something we have to look at constitutionally. I have seen a few motions speaking to term limits. I believe that will be tabled then we will see how the delegates vote on that. Sometimes you have persons in a very senior position for a long time being re-elected over and over. I am happy for the opportunity, but it is the Constitution that allows for it,” he noted.

Speaking on his objectives for the union over his next three years, Lyte noted that he will be looking to engage with the Ministry of Education on policy matters and the establishment of a new multi-year agreement.