THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is in the process of putting in place the necessary mechanisms for the holding of Local Government Elections. The elections, due in 2021, were postponed following delaying tactics employed by opposition commissioners to put in place a new chief elections officer (CEO) following blatant attempts to rig the March 2020 National and Regional Elections by the APNU+AFC coalition, in apparent complicity with the then CEO Keith Lowenfield. Vice-President and General-Secretary of the PPP, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had made it abundantly clear that there was no way in which the PPP would have participated in any elections unless Mr Lowenfield was replaced as chief elections officer. That has since happened and from all indications the way is now clear for elections to be held presumably by the first quarter of 2023. In fact, the most recent development is the signalling by GECOM in writing to Local Government Minister Mr Nigel Dharamlall of its readiness to conduct the poll. In fact, GECOM has already commenced the process of putting in place the necessary logistical and staffing arrangements in anticipation of the impending poll.

The opposition PNC, meanwhile, is continuing to put all manner of roadblocks to the holding of the elections. PNC leader Aubrey Norton has intensified calls for a  ‘clean’ Voters List. Not only is the opposition demanding a new list, but that the names of those on the current list who reside overseas to be expunged from it.

The Guyana Elections Commission has however made it clear that while the opposition concerns have been noted regarding the existing Preliminary List of Electors (PLEs) which was extracted from the National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB), it cannot act contrary to the legal provisions enacted in the National Registration Act (NRA), Chapter 19:08. As pointed out by GECOM, there are legal provisions to be followed regarding the removal of names as was upheld by a High Court ruling.

All of this has a familiar ring, especially when seen against the background of the previous General and Regional elections which was also delayed for an inordinate period due to all manner of frivolous demands, including fresh house-to-house registration.

The opposition-nominated members of the commission are now attempting not only to frustrate, but also to delay the holding of the elections by seeking to attack the competence of the CEO and making all manner of obstructionist and unfounded objections to draft proposals on projected timelines. Not even the chairperson of the commission, who was appointed by former President and Leader of the PNC-led coalition, has been spared the ‘wrath’ of the PNC with all manner of derogatory remarks levelled against her and the staging of picketing exercises in front of the GECOM headquarters.

No one can argue against the need for a clean and credible voters list for the holding of national and local elections, but any changes or amendments to the existing list must have to be done within the framework of the law and the relevant constitutional provisions. In any event, the credibility and transparency of elections transcend that of the voters list and is determined fundamentally by the principle of one man, one vote. The days of multiple voting belonged to a bygone era which was characterized by phantom voters and massive voting irregularities.

One is left to wonder whether the demands of the opposition, more particularly that of the PNC, may not be yet another smokescreen to cast doubts on the integrity of the electoral processes and in the process set the stage for crying foul in what some political analysts see as a likely defeat at the polls, as was the case in the March 2, 2020 National and Regional Elections.

The truth is that the PNC, now the main coalition partner under the APNU+AFC rubric, has always had a trepidation when it comes to facing the electorate. This is true for elections at the national, as it is at the local and municipal levels. The PPP/C, in contrast, has always welcomed any opportunity to test the political waters with full confidence in the Guyanese electorate to make the right political choices. As noted by President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, there is no community that is outside of the political reach of the PPP/C administration.

In the final analysis, it is the electorate that has the final say as to who, and which political party it can trust to govern in their best individual and collective interests. The highly anticipated Local Government Elections will provide that opportunity for voters at the grassroots level to have their say. The electorate has already spoken at the National and Regional Elections on March 2, 2020. In the end, it is the triumph of democracy and the will of the electorate that really matters.