ON Thursday last the Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall informed the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) that the date for the much-anticipated Local Government Elections (LGEs) is March 13, 2023.
He made this announcement on the advice of the commission, which declared that it was in a position of readiness, having completed its preparatory planning and voter-registration cycle which cleaned the voters’ list as much as possible.
Recall, that the same voters’ list was used in the elections of 2011, 2015, and 2020 with modifications and changes.
Nonetheless, President, Dr Irfaan Ali said, following the announcement, that his administration is committed to having the elections so that the building of local governance systems, multiplicities and communities could take place.
He even said the elections are necessary because “long we have seen what mismanagement can do…this is the time for us to work together…come together…to strengthen our governance system and to work towards building a system that delivers to our people.”
Dr Ali urged stakeholders to get “ready,” because they have long enough notice to fully participate in the elections.
This is even while the Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton is remaining tight-lipped about the APNU+AFC participation in the local poll. Norton has already maintained his position that the voters’ list is bloated and anything but clean.
He said only last week that the party has a plan that they are going to put in train, while at the same time criticising the electoral reforms that the PPP/C is working on.
On the other side, the AFC has already said it is not going to contest the polls because of concerns over the voters’ list being bloated and other credibility issues. But then, it said it will decide later.
No other party or third force has signalled its intention to give the PPP and APNU+AFC coalition stiff competition.
Firstly, the PPP/C delivered on its promise to host the elections as soon as GECOM said that it was ready.
The President and minister stuck to their word that there would be elections even after the whole debacle that arose during the last General and Regional Elections which was marred by attempted rigging.
The PPP/C’s commitment to contest local government polls is noted, even as its Presidential Commission of Inquiry is gearing up to clarify and highlight some burning issues surrounding the 2020 elections.
Secondly, the PPP/C should know what it is getting itself into. It should be on guard for an all-out assault from the PNC operating under the guise of the APNU. It will change the party narrative of the bloated voters’ list back to corruption, Bharrat Jagdeo, racial discrimination and local governance issues.
The party must field a strong unity group in all 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This group understands the nature of community and national politics. It must get ready because the PNC or APNU will have many policy U-turns and conflicting issues which they cannot defend.
The PPP/C’s team must be ever watchful of the process at GECOM and how the ballots are used. In other words, they must guard against rigging.
Thirdly, if the opposition wants to be victorious, it must know that it must change its narrative and its pitch. It must not use the garbage about the voters’ list and corruption. It must raise issues relating to local governance in each area, and the PPP’s management and allocation of resources.
Also, the PNC-APNU would be advised to not bring the race-card into the LGEs because the PPP would trump that narrative by asking for evidence or empirical data. It should be fully prepared for the poll, and its PR machinery must be intact to fend off government propaganda if needs be.
Fourthly, the GECOM and its Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud must strive to conduct the poll in a free, fair, and credible manner. It must not be seen as favouring either the PPP or APNU or any other party for that matter. It must be seen to be governed by election laws and protocols at every stage.
Additionally, the declaration of results must be done in a smooth, open and fully transparent manner. There must not be a five-month period of waiting. There must not be a holdup that lasts more than 24 hours.
GECOM must know that the public is not likely to be patient in this LGEs, so it needs to dot every ‘I’ and cross every ‘T.’ The report card GECOM gets will be the deciding factor of whether there are calls for the CEO or the Chair’s resignation by opposition groups.
Finally, Local Government Elections are important to the lifeline of Guyana because these elections are like a referendum on the popular support of the administration in the Executive Office or rejection of the opposition narrative.
They show how the party in office is doing with its policy adumbration and policy execution as well as what policies and politicians are unpopular with the electorate at the grassroots level.
The elections are important because the central government gets to know if its policies and plans are working to modernise and fix the communities while it focuses on its heavy infrastructural and other capital agendas nationally.