Against the background of the passage in the National Assembly of the Local Authorities (Election Amendment) Bill, not yet assented to by the President, which provides that local government elections be held by August, the Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally, announced that the Elections Commission is ready to “go into election mode” as soon as the date for local government elections is fixed. This ends speculation about Gecom’s readiness. It also challenges the government’s position on the holding of local government elections. Minister Rohee’s statement that Gecom is not ready is not tenable. Minister Whittaker’s view that the people are not ready has been an age old excuse for the withholding of democracy and lacks credibility.
APNU has seized the opportunity which was opened up by Gecom’s announcement to call on the government to fix a date for the elections. “The clock is ticking,” said APNU’s Chair, David Granger.
The government has always expressed an anxiety for early local government elections. Shortly after his assumption of office, President Ramotar announced his intention to hold local government elections in 2012. These had been delayed since 1994 due to the unfortunate circumstances whereby during the PPP/C’s last term of office the government allowed negotiations to be