Latest update February 18th, 2025 5:44 AM
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REPUDIATION
The nation went to the polls last week in the country’s second Local Government Elections (LGE) since 1994, and except for a few allegations by the two main parties, it seems that everything went smoothly as predicted by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). 
At many polling stations in Georgetown, on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara and in Berbice, only a handful of people showed up to vote, while several other polling stations were desolate. Acting President Moses Nagamootoo and his wife cast their ballots at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal while Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo cast his vote at St. John’s Secondary School.
Throughout the day, there was a steady stream of voters, but without any significant build up throughout the day, an indication that there were two waves of voters—early in the morning and in the evening shortly before the polls closed.
Many blamed the low turnout and the lackadaisical attitude displayed by the voters towards voting on the hiatus of more than two-decades without a LGE. However, credit must be given to APNU for fulfilling its promise to hold two LGE since taking office in 2015.
Voter turnout in Georgetown was abysmal at 28 percent compared with 37.7 percent in 2016. Low turn-out in municipal elections is normal, but the 28,436 votes cast out of 119,374 in Georgetown seems to be a protest vote.
It was not an overwhelming victory in the city for APNU compared to 2016 when the APNU+AFC captured 25 seats. In the 2018 LGE, the APNU and AFC clinched 23 of the 30 seats on the City Council, the PPP obtained seven. However, the number of APNU seats has declined by two, whereas the PPP gained two additional seats.
More importantly, it was an unusual development for the PPP which did not win any of the 15 city constituencies in the city in 2016, but won three this year: Kitty-Subryanville, Campbellville-Prashad Nagar and Cummings Lodge.
In addition to the city, APNU won the popular votes in New Amsterdam, Linden, Bartica and Mahdia municipalities, while the PPP won in Rose Hall Town, Corriverton, Lethem, Mabaruma, and Anna Regima.
Even though the turnout for this year’s LGE was disappointing across the country, results from the polling stations in Berbice were solid for the PPP, which won in almost every district. The PPP won a landslide victory in the heated contested district of Whim and nearby districts on the Corentyne, the birthplace of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
The election results have devastated the AFC. Its losses were extensive in Georgetown and across the country. At the Whim polling station, the PPP candidate easily defeated Mavis Nagamootoo of the AFC and sister-in-law of Moses Nagamootoo by 216 votes to 31.
This was the constituency where claims were made that members of the public had been tricked into supporting the AFC list. The APNU did not contest these constituencies in order to allow the AFC to improve its chances, but the AFC made no impact on the Corentyne. It received a shellacking from the PPP, which picked up the majority of votes from Whim and nearby constituencies and throughout the region while the AFC gained only a few votes.
The poor showing by the AFC could result in severe repercussions in terms of its relations with its larger coalition partner, APNU. The two parties were unable to reach an accord on the LGE, as a result, the AFC put on a brave face and decided to contest the LGE on its own. It was a mistake.
Its disastrous showing at the polls this year has definitely weakened its position and its bargaining power as it relates to its negotiations with APNU on the 2020 general elections. The fact that only 36 percent of the electorate voted means that 64 percent have repudiated the political parties. The low voter turnout could have major consequences for politics in Guyana.
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