A member of the Community Development Council (CDC) of Aranaputa, in Region Nine, is accusing the government of interfering in the preparations of the community’s upcoming elections.
The CDC planned to hold its elections to elect a new chairman and executive on April 27, when the three year life of the current council expires.
However, according to a councillor, late last week the CDC held a public meeting, where the Regional Executive Officer (REO) Claire Singh told villagers that the council should hold its elections on April 15, to be proceeded by a nomination day on March 23. She also stated that she was in possession of a list of 200 persons who are eligible to vote, the councillor said.
Singh, who sought permission to address the meeting, was accompanied by Regional Chairman Douglas Casimero and other officials of the regional administration.
According to the councillor, the announcement immediately raised concerns among members of the CDC and villagers, since the community has at least 340 persons who are eligible to vote while the list presented at the meeting did not include the names of several persons who are running for positions on the council. He said that another councillor objected at the meeting, stating that in the history of the community, the council always sets the date for elections.
Singh was reported to be out of the region when her office was contacted yesterday, however, Casimero told this newspaper that he and other officials indeed visited Aranaputa last week and informed the CDC that the Amerindian Affairs Ministry had provided dates on which the community should elect a new executive. He said that only the chairman of the council objected to the issue when told that the entire council opposed the move.
Casimero is also head of the St Ignatius Village council and he noted that a system is being implemented around the region. He also provided dates on which other communities will hold their elections. Stabroek News made several attempts to obtain a comment from the Amerindian Affairs Ministry yesterday but these efforts proved futile.
According to the Aranaputa councillor, “It is usually among ourselves that we decide when to hold elections but apparently the objective is to get certain people connected to the government to run the community and control all the spending and affairs of the village.”
The community receives financial assistance from central government, while the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and the Local Government Ministry oversee aspects of the community’s development.
According to a regional councillor at Region 9, the CDCs were set up several years ago by the authorities to manage the affairs of communities, but it appeared that government was attempting to exert control over them and traditional village councils. Another regional councillor told this newspaper that the authorities are attempting to standardise the system of elections of all CDCs as well as village councils, but he noted that it is being done with “political points” being the main aim.
