Dear Editor,
Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Norman Whittaker is quoted in your March 7, 2014 issue as saying that “the vast majority of the populace is not prepared for the holding of local government polls by 1st August,” and therefore, to go ahead (with the holding of these elections by that date) “would result in the waste of a lot of money.”
In the above article Whittaker goes on to say that a lot more public awareness work has to be done so as to ensure that the public is knowledgeable and interested enough in the polls (presumably for the government to decide for these elections to be held).
The Minister further said that he will give the order for local government elections when Gecom says it is ready and when the government is satisfied that the preparations are in place!
Clearly in what was a rambling interview characterized by arrant nonsense Minister Norman Whittaker predicts a very low turnout if elections were to be held by 1st August “in keeping with the demands of the opposition parties.”
Earlier, PPP`s General Secretary Clement Rohee publicly declared that his party`s view was that Gecom was not ready for local government elections.
Editor, there are four relevant issues, namely: (i) the law, (ii) the public`s interest or desire for these elections, (iii) the public`s knowledge of these elections and (iv) the role of Gecom and that of the Minister.
May I remind Minister Whittaker that it is not a requirement of the law that a given minimum percentage of electors vote for the polls to be valid. The law only requires that elections for the posts of councillors be held every three years. In any event the Minister would have to be clairvoyant to be able to determine the level of participation, a claim I suspect he would be unwilling to make.
Secondly, let me advise the Minister that it is not for Gecom to say to him that it is ready to hold local government elections; it is for the Minister to say to Gecom that the government wishes to have these elections by a given date and to ascertain Gecom`s ability to be ready by then.
As to the brouhaha of the Minister or his claim that the public is unaware or has no knowledge of what these elections are about, this is but a red herring and I ask him where is the evidence to support his claim. The elections are to provide citizens with the opportunity to elect councillors to manage their communities, whether it be a village or town. As for the new voting system it is one whereby “wards” or constituencies are created within each NDC or municipality (and equal to half of the number of seats on the respective council) and the successful candidate will represent the residents of that geographic area within that local democratic organ. In practice it gives each voter the option to cast two votes; one for a councillor for a particular area within the whole (constituency) and the other to determine the composition of the other half of the council, on the basis of proportional representation. This is no different from what obtains at general elections where the ballot paper is divided in two and voters can mark two Xs.
Finally I turn to the public`s desire and interest in having these long-overdue elections. To this I will merely say that Guyanese are not masochists and they are certainly not happy with the condition of their communities. They want the opportunity to elect a new set of councillors and to replace what are now largely moribund councils. It is the government that is unlawfully denying them this opportunity.
As for the utterances and actions of the government and spokespersons such as Messrs Whittaker and Rohee, it represents nothing short of duplicity and lawlessness. They are fooling no one. The public recognizes that their desire is to maintain the current status quo for as long as they can, as it allows them to continue riding roughshod over local government and prevent local democracy. It perpetuates a situation where the government can for example foist an unfit and unqualified candidate to be the town clerk of Georgetown and in the process act as a Sheriff or One Person Council, disregarding and disrespecting a duly elected council. Elsewhere people have to endure corrupt, inefficient and uncaring councils.
There is no valid reason why local government elections cannot be held within the deadline set by the National Assembly if the government is desirous of being viewed as law abiding.
Every rope of course, has an end.
Yours faithfully,
Ronald Bulkan, MP
