No law in place to hold Local Govt. elections by August 1-GECOM Official

Mar 09, 2014 News

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There is no law in place which mandates that Local Government Elections be held by August 1, in Guyana, since President Donald Ramotar, has not assented to the Bill recently passed in the National Assembly setting that deadline.

This was confirmed by a senior official within the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) who confirmed too that even if such were the case, it would be impossible for the Commission to hold the election by that time as it requires a minimum of 180 days to prepare.
The official further points out that money required to carry out the action plan in order to successfully host the election, is provided for in the Budget.
The 2014 Budget is yet to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and a vote.
It was further pointed out that unlike the 1994 Local Government election where the system used was not first ‘past the post,’ there were only 71 constituencies.
This time around, there are 585 additional constituencies.
As a result, GECOM will have to process 656 different kinds of ballot papers for each constituency.
To compound the situation further, as it currently stands on Nomination Day, all nominations and lists in the 656 constituencies will have to be processed.
According to the official, this will pose a significant challenge for GECOM and as a result, the Commission is now petitioning Government to instead allow for three days of nominations.
It is unclear what government’s reaction will be to this.
There has been a clamoring by several sections of civil society and even the international community to hold Local Government Elections by August 1.
Junior Local Government Minister, Norman Whittaker, who is acting in the substantive capacity since the resignation of Ganga Persaud, is now the only person who by law can name a date for Local Government Elections.
Under the Local Authorities Elections Act, an election shall be held on such day as the Minister may by order appoint.
It states too that an order under this section shall be published in the Gazette and a copy thereof published by the Local Authority to which it relates.

The legislation further provides that “Where the Minister is satisfied, on the advice of the Elections Commission, that it is impracticable to comply with the provisions of this Act or the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Act 1990 regarding the date for the holding of an election to elect members of a local democratic organ, he may, at any time by order, postpone such date to a date specified in the said order or to a date to be specified in a subsequent order, the postponed date being not later than forty-eight months from the date on which the election should be held, and every person who is a councillor, including the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, on the date on which the election should be held shall continue in, and discharge the function of, his office until his successor enters on the duties of his office.”
The Alliance For Change (AFC), on Friday, by way of a public statement from its party’s Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, is insisting on an August 1 deadline for the holding of Local Government Elections.
With Local Government Elections last held in 1994, pressure has been mounting on Guyana to hold one as soon as possible.
Nagamootoo, in his statement, made it clear that it was the former PPP leader and President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who said that a number of Local Authorities exist illegally and are “squandering the people’s money. They are not accountable to anybody. Nobody knows what is going on with these Local Authorities. There are a lot of rackets going on and now they have wrecked everything.”
“Were he alive today, Cheddi Jagan would have castigated those who would shed crocodile tears for him and shout his name in vain, for not holding Local Government Elections over the 17 years since he has died.”
Nagamootoo called on the Chairman of GECOM, Dr. Steve Surujbally, to pronounce on its readiness to hold the elections and warned about statements made by Attorney General, Anil Nandlall and Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee.
The Parliamentarian suggested that one way of conducting elections by August 1 is to start in existing Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, which need no further demarcation and in the towns, including Georgetown.
Western Diplomats and sections of civil society in a recent public missive in its call for Local Government Elections to be held by August 1, said that “The Constitution affirms that local government is a vital aspect of democracy that should allow as many people as possible to participate actively in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live, and it mandates that local elections be held every three years.”
They noted too that the Commonwealth Charter to which Guyana subscribes refers to an individual’s inalienable right to participate in democratic processes, in particular, through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which he or she lives.
“Parliaments and representative local governments and other forms of local governance are essential elements in the exercise of democratic governance.”

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