The President had made what many thought was a solemn promise in his party’s election Manifesto – Working Together for a Better Tomorrow. He wrote: “In the area of local government and governance, the next PPP/C government will ensure, within one year of the 2011 general and regional elections, that local government elections are held, bringing much needed reinvigoration into local government entities.” Nearly three years have passed since those elections in 2011 were held and Ramotar became president. He has failed to keep his promise on local government elections.
The President, speaking as late as September 2014, admitted, “I campaigned and promised people that once we win the next elections, we will have local government elections very, very quickly. That is true, but I did not anticipate that we would have a one-seat minority in the Parliament. That created political uncertainty in the situation and in the body politics of the country.” Electoral arithmetic, party politics and the PPP/C’s control of the National Assembly seem to be more important than the promotion of democracy and compliance with the Constitution.
The President’s procrastination has been exposed by the Chairman of the Elections Commission. Given the passage in the National Assembly of the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill which had provided for local government elections to be held by 1st August 2014, the Chairman announced in March that the Elections Commission was ready to “go into election mode” as soon as the date for local government elections is fixed.
A Partnership for National Unity’s struggle for local government reform is aimed at giving the people the power to design the systems and determine the services that affect their everyday lives. To do so, the relationship between the central and local government must be altered.
The President and the PPP/C, however, are aware that the proposed change will shift power from central government to local councils. This is why the PPP/C is deliberately delaying the holding of local government elections. The Guyanese people are being denied their right to elect their own local and municipal leaders. They are being denied their right even to know when those elections will be held.
They have staged protests at the Corriverton municipality and the Ireng-Sawariwau, Port Kaituma-Arakaka, Matthews Ridge and Kwakwani and other neighbourhoods against PPP/C-installed, hand-picked interim management committees. They are now staging protests all over the country to demand that local government elections are held as soon as possible. The law with regard to local government elections is clear:
- The Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana states: “Local government is a vital aspect of democracy…” Local government elections, last held in 1994, are a constitutional obligation and a democratic entitlement of the Guyanese people. It is mandatory for the executive branch of government to conduct the prescribed periodic elections. Local democracy is provided for and protected by the Constitution, specifically, Articles 71 to 78.B (‘Local Democracy’).
- The Local Government (Amendment) Bill; Local Government Commission Bill; Fiscal Transfers Bill and Municipal and District Councils Bill were all passed by the National Assembly on 7th August, 2013. These bills paved the way for elections to be held under the new system. The first bill has not been assented to because the PPP/C wants the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development to retain the authority to dissolve elected councils. The second bill was assented to by the President but, more than one year later, the ‘Commencement Order’ from the Minister that is required for the Commission to be operationalized is yet to be issued.
- The Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill, at its second reading on 10th February 2014, was debated and passed ‘as amended,’ directing that elections be held by 1st August 2014. There was a reasonable expectation that, at last, local government elections would be held in 2014. The PPP/C, however, made it clear that it had no intention of either obeying the mandate of the National Assembly or complying with the precepts of the Constitution.
The President does not have the prerogative to deny the people their constitutional right to local democracy. The President must: implement the resolution of the National Assembly and announce the date for local government elections to be held countrywide; initiate a process by which the Local Government (Amendment) Bill could be returned for his assent and issue the ‘Commencement Order’ to operationalise the Local Government Commission.
Local Government elections, like general and regional elections, are a constitutional right. They are not a favour to be bestowed by the PPP/C whenever it chooses. It is an obligation, not an option, for the President of the Republic to comply with the Constitution and to conform to the laws of the country.
