The People’s Progress Party/Civic (PPP/C) had infused the 2023 Local Government Elections (LGE) 2023 with a vibrancy unparalleled in Guyana’s history.
Guided by their unifying philosophy of “One Guyana” (founded upon core principles of diversity, inclusion, fairness, and rejection of racism), which has become the cornerstone for both central and local governments, the PPP/C believes that this approach has given impetus to their vision of progress, development, and prosperity for all Guyanese.
The PPP/C’s LGE 2023 campaign was designed not only to enumerate the tangible benefits of their unifying philosophy, but also to utilise their people-oriented and pro-growth/development approach to make electoral inroads, particularly in the APNU strongholds of Georgetown, New Amsterdam, and Linden.

The PPP/C’s performance at LGE 2023 did rattle the nerves of APNU operatives, as they learnt that the PPP/C has secured important electoral gains in their (APNU’s) strongholds of Georgetown and New Amsterdam, and to a lesser extent in Linden.
The PPP/C, for example, has increased its proportion of total valid votes from 7.8 per cent (or 402) in 2018 to 23.5 per cent (or 2,464) in 2023, compared with APNU’s increase in proportion from 70.3 per cent (or 3,606) in 2018 to 76.5 per cent (or 8002) in 2023.

The relative gain of the PPP/C is significant and the party believes that by receiving six times more votes in 2023 than in 2018, in addition to having two PR seats on the City Council, they have now positioned themselves to expand their reach in Linden.
For this analysis, however, focus is given exclusively to the LAA (Local Authority Area) of Georgetown. The stakes are high: the Mayor and Town Council have had no sharp vision for the city’s development and have allowed it to deteriorate.

Recognising the crucial role that the country’s capital must play in the transformation of Guyana, the PPP/C government had to intervene to arrest its downward slide through a combination of projects in construction/rehabilitation of roads, improvement of drainage, creation of new parks, beautification projects, among other things.
The PPP/C reckons that if they win Georgetown, it would be easier to transition it into a modern city. They invested substantial time and resources to woo voters to support their agenda and vote for them.

They utilised their new governance model (taking government to the people) and extolled their citywide accomplishments, noting that they have fulfilled all their 2020 election campaign promises.
In addition, their mantra of diversity, inclusion, and fairness resonated well with citizens. The PPP/C felt that their approach has helped to allay fears of ethnic insecurity and lead to the development of trust among many voters who had traditionally supported and voted for APNU.
How did these attributes play among voters? There was an increase in voter turn-out rate (VTR) by three per cent (from 24 per cent in 2018 to 27 per cent in 2023), which based on the results, suggests that the increase in VTR benefited the PPP/C more than APNU. Of note is that the VTR varied among the 15 constituencies.

The PPP/C received four more seats (two constituency and two PR) than they had in LGE 2018. The PPP/C now has 11 seats at the City Council (five constituency and six PR). The PPP/C’s proportion of total votes in Georgetown increased from 24.8 per cent (or 7,050) to 36.7 per cent (or 12,553) compared with a decline in proportion for APNU from 63.7 per cent (or 18,127) in 2018 to 60.9 per cent (or 20,839) in 2023.

While the PPP/C won 67 (83.7 per cent) of 80 LAAs countrywide, they have made it pellucid that notwithstanding the LGE 2023 results, they would continue to work to improve every LAA in the country, including Georgetown into which they made significant inroads into the APNU base.

They will continue with their neighborhood revitalisation programmes, job creation, small business grants, scholarship grants, establishment of regional hospitals, Amerindian affairs, housing development, potable water distribution, among other projects. The PPP/C’s ‘One Guyana’ philosophy would continue to guide policy making and implementation.
Sincerely
Dr Tara Singh