Four months later, still no chair, Region 10 RDC stuck in political limbo

Jan 22, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Ten, Dwight John has said that he is still to decide on the date and time when the meeting will be called for election of the chairman for the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice Region.

John told Kaieteur News “When the time ready everybody will be appraised with that information. I don’t have that in mind right now. I’m at a ribbon cutting event.”

The REO’s comment follows four months after the elections and scheduled meeting was held for the selection of a new chairman for the council. At the September 1 2025 Regional Elections, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) led by businessman Azruddin Mohamed secured the most votes in Region Ten, a region traditionally dominated by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R).

Eighteen councillors were sworn in back in October, nine for WIN, five for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), three for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) and one for the Forward Movement Guyana (FGM). The RDC election ended in a 9-9 tie between the WIN and APNU nominees. Since then the REO and Clerk of Council, suspended the process and said the matter would be referred to Minister Manickchand to break the tie. However, the minister has since said she has no role in choosing a Chair for Region Ten, noting that the Clerk must follow the lawful procedure.

Nevertheless, WIN councilors have been calling Chair to be put in place. On Tuesday, Region 10 Councillor, Leola Narine who joined the protest over for the delayed appointment of the opposition leader added her voice to the call.  She said “We are asking for Region 10 the RDC to reconvene we are the only region that is left behind [a Chairman is not in place]. And we are asking because it is our constitutional right for our RDC to function.

Now with the 2026 national budget days away, the stalled appointment of a chairman of the region is even more concerning as this has created a serious governance vacuum within the RDC and is now impeding the statutory and developmental functions of the region’s highest decision-making body. The 2026 regional budget was recently submitted by the regional administration without the involvement or input of the elected councillors. The party outlined that the Local Democratic Organs Act, Cap. 28:09 envisions the RDC as the central body responsible for consulting communities and prioritising development needs before the preparation and submission of the annual regional budget. WIN Councillor for Region Ten Mark Goring told this newspaper that the RDC is using the current Chairman, the APNU appointed Deron Adams to sign off important matters. “Budget submitted without the councillors input, the old chairman, the RDC is using to sign off on things until new chair is in place they are using the loophole to do that. Because the laws are fully defined as to the timeline for a Chair to be in place; one chapter says council must be convened 14 days after the election but does not specifically address the chair,” Goring said. He revealed that WIN Councillors were looking into the possibility of having a resolution in place to force the REO to reconvene the meeting but the other opposition councillors from APNU and Forward Guyana Movement refused to sign it. “There is a lot of internal politics preventing us from moving forward,” he said.

WIN had previously released a statement expressing concern at the governance paralysis and oversight breakdown within the RDC.  The party noted that under normal circumstances, the RDC operates through a system of statutory committees tasked with providing oversight, scrutiny, and policy direction to the regional administration. The party stressed that the impasse will affect the legitimate functions of key committees such as the works committee, which oversees infrastructure and capital projects; the education committee, responsible for monitoring education delivery and resources; the agriculture committee, which monitors agricultural programmes and resources; the health committee, ensuring health services meet community needs; and the finance and administration committee, which reviews expenditure and budget implementation.

Without an elected chairman, vice chairman, and a properly convened statutory council, these critical committees have not been established or functioning, effectively disabling the region’s system of checks and balances.  “This lack of democratic oversight undermines accountability in the execution of public projects and exposes the region to risks of inefficiency, poor prioritisation, and lack of transparency in the use of public funds,” WIN said in a statement.

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• Dwight John, Linden, Mark Goring, RDC, Region 10

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