WITH the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) conducting continuous registration, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC has opined that the commission may be unable to hold Local Government Elections (LGEs) by March 13.

During a recent airing of his online program “Issues in the News,” Nandlall said, “From all indications, it appears that GECOM will not be in a position to hold those elections.”

According to the Attorney General, the government had allocated funds to GECOM for holding the elections along with everything possible to cater for it.

“Unfortunately, based upon the way events are unfolding at that agency, we have had constant delays. Though the Minister has appointed a day for elections to be held, from all indications it appears that GECOM will not be in a position to hold those elections. That is highly regrettable and unfortunate,” he said.

He said that GECOM needs to do all that is necessary to ready the machinery to hold LGE, which is an important part of the democratic fabric of our society.

Local Government Election was legally due in 2021 and funds were budgeted to facilitate this; however, several issues facing GECOM at the time prevented the hosting of the elections, including the non-appointment of a chief election officer (CEO).

The LGE could not be held in the absence of a CEO, a position which was later filled by Vishnu Persaud.
In October, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, wrote the GECOM Chairperson, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, informing her of the date for LGE.

As part of the government’s commitment, some $2.9 billion has been allocated to GECOM for preparatory works to ensure the successful planning and execution of the LGE.

Later, Nomination Day was set for December 12, 2022. This, however, had to be pushed back by GECOM for the hosting of another round of “claims and objections” for a new register of voters to be produced.

The continuous registration exercise is scheduled to conclude on May 31, 2023. This shift in date, however, is also expected to affect the date for LGEs, which is currently set for March 13, 2023.

The two primary objectives of local government are to enable democratic local decision-making and action by and on behalf of communities, and to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities.

Some of the key goals of the LGE are to improve the local environment; provide and develop local open spaces and recreational facilities; set strategic policy directions; and prepare annual plans, budgets and long-term council community plans.

LGE will be held in 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and 10 municipalities, throughout the country using a hybrid system of proportional representation and first past-the-post. Fifty per cent of the councillors for each Local Authority Area (LAA) will be elected through proportional representation while the other 50 per cent will be elected through first-past-the-post.