— PPP/C signals readiness to compete in all communities

CLINGING to what has been deemed as frivolous claims regarding the Official List of Electors (OLE), the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) might be leaving their respective support bases unrepresented in local government as both groups have yet to decide if they will contest the March 2023 Local Government Elections.

Last Friday, during a press conference of the Alliance For Change (AFC), that party’s leader Khemraj Ramjattan addressed a position made by one of the party’s leaders, Cathy Hughes, in a media report which suggested that the AFC would not contest the upcoming LGE.

Ramjattan countered Hughes’ statements to the media saying that his party’s national executive body has the final decision on whether the party will contest the local government polls.

“I rather suspect that Cathy was speaking personally. Cathy feels strongly that we must not go into the elections,” Ramjattan said in response to questions posed by a journalist on the flip-flopping of the AFC on its involvement in Local Government Elections.

STILL TO BE MADE
Questioned on whether it has the finances and the voter support to contest the election, Ramjattan said that determination is still to be made.

Questioned again about what are some of the factors that would influence his party’s contesting of local government polls, Ramjattan dodged the question, noting his party would “keep that confidential”.

The A Partnership for National Unity has also been mum on its LGEs participation. Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, who is also Leader of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) and Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), dodged questions from the media on whether the APNU will contest the local government polls.

The APNU and the AFC have contested previous local government elections separately, although contesting national and regional elections as a coalition. Even at the regional level, however, tensions brew between the two sides on the selection of Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons for regional bodies.The APNU over the past two years has been weakened by resignations of party members and in-fighting.

Opposition Leader Norton told the media at a recent press conference that “the question of elections have [sic] to do with strategy and tactics and we think strategically we don’t need to say it at this time.

“We know what we need to say to our membership. We know we have to do our preparation. We would do that but we will decide what we say at the right time in terms of participation or non-participation”.

Meanwhile, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, following the announcement of LGEs, called “on all Guyanese to work in renewing efforts to building the local governance system, building and strengthening our communities, especially our townships.”

MISMANAGEMENT
The President had recognised that “for long, we have seen what mismanagement could do in townships, in some areas.”

As in the case of the Georgetown City Council, citizens of Guyana are left now with a series of rusting parking meters spread across the capital; remnants of terrible decision-making at the local level by the APNU-dominated council which still threatens to leave Guyana with a large legal bill since the contract for the parking meters was abruptly brought to an end under the APNU+AFC Government, sparking a legal battle with the company contracted to deliver the parking meters.

As it relates to the development of local government, Central Government is considering the devolution of power to the local democratic organs, and also the possibility of providing those bodies with larger budgets, Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo, noted during a recent interview, and added that administrative staff would have to be trained further on how to properly manage finances.

It remains unclear what the next steps of the APNU and AFC are, causing much speculation that the parties fear their support bases will not endorse them on the March 2023 ballot.

GECOM Commissioner, Clement Rohee, has a different view on the electors’ list smokescreen from the opposition parties.

Through his social media recently, Rohee questioned the motives of the APNU+AFC since it had first shirked the opportunity to attend a forum at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) which would discuss the draft amendments to Guyana’s electoral laws.

That forum will be held today. Following public pressure, the APNU+AFC quickly changed its position and named AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan, and PNC member Roysdale Forde, S.C. as representatives of the party at that consultation.

Commenting on the tactics of the APNU+AFC, Commissioner Rohee had said: “The APNU+AFC is either living in a bubble of their own making or in a surreal world. In both, they prance around in an effort to wipe away the shame and disgrace they brought upon themselves and the nation when they attempted to perpetrate one of the most despicable and dastardly acts in modern electoral history and thwart the Guyanese people’s march towards democratic governance, economic and social progress and all-round human development.”