GENERAL Secretary of the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has emphasised that the Party will not only continue to focus on fulfilling the promises it made during the recently concluded local government elections (LGEs), but the appointed candidates will portray commendable traits during their tenure.

These remarks were made by Jagdeo on Thursday during a live interview on his Facebook page, where he confidently expounded that because of the PPP’s clean campaign and commitments, his Party was able to win the polls “overwhelmingly”.

He also said that despite the number of false narratives being peddled by the Opposition, along with other social-media trolls, the Party and its candidates and supporters will not be discouraged and will continue to be on the ground to hear the people’s concerns.

Moreover, while addressing the constant heckling by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) that the PPP is on a malicious agenda to control all of Guyana, and their massive victories is a loss for Guyana, the VP remarked that the local government polls were a blatant recognition of the people rejecting APNU, their poor track record, and their use of racism and divisive politics.

“We work very hard; our candidates work very hard,” Jagdeo said, underscoring that the PPP did not bully people to vote for them, but instead the populace recognised the Party’s positive message of development.

He further stated: “It was a free election; people had the freedom of choice, and they willingly chose the PPP overwhelmingly in many of these communities.”

Jagdeo then went on to speak about his Party’s selection process for those who will be sitting on the constituencies that were won.

“The process of selecting who represent us in the NDCs and the towns had to be an inclusive process…,” the PPP General Secretary added.
He then said that unlike the Opposition, their selection was done in a fair manner and not one representing a dictatorship. In fact, he stressed that the PPP was bent on engaging the people.

Noting that there are some contentious areas, where residents would have voiced concerns about how their communities are being run, he remarked that what was observed is that within some of these Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) there is infighting.

Referring to the Better Hope/LBI NDC, he said that he invited not only the council members but also the candidates to Freedom House to relate the PPP’s expectations.

“We have emphasised about behaviour and attitude in response to residents’ concerns,” Jagdeo said before adding that poor attitude from PPP candidates will not be tolerated.

He stressed that community engagements, transparency and accountability of funds are at the top of the list of expectations.

The PPP came out of LGEs 2023 as the big winner, since they won 66 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs), including seven of 10 municipalities, and 906 of the 1,206 local government seats.

The PPP won 83 per cent of the LAAs, 75 per cent of all seats available and more than 70 per cent of all votes cast. The PPP not only strengthened its hold on its traditional strongholds, but it has made massive inroads in areas where the PNC has won almost 100 per cent of the votes in the past.

It is at the LGEs that Guyanese are given the opportunity to vote for the councillors who will represent their Local Authority Areas (LAAs). Guyana has 70 NDCs and 10 municipalities, inclusive of Georgetown.

The local government system is an essential part of the country’s governance framework. The election is contested by political parties, voluntary groups, and individuals who are desirous of winning seats on the councils of the NDCs and municipalities.