The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) has indicated that it could be ready to hold the long-awaited local government elections by December, according to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan.
Bulkan, speaking on the Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2015 that was eventually passed in the National Assembly yesterday, announced that he was advised on Gecom’s readiness by Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield.
Earlier yesterday, he spoke to Lowenfield and was advised that the commission at its next scheduled meeting on August 18th, is expected to make a formal decision to proceed with all of the activities for the holding of local government elections.
“I am assured, Mr Speaker,… by the [Gecom] Secretariat that once such approval is granted, that Gecom will be able to hold elections in early Decem-ber or well before the Christmas,” he said.
Although the elections are constitutionally-due to be held every three years, they were last conducted in 1994, two years after the PPP/C won power from the PNC.
Bulkan noted that following previous discussions with Gecom he had announced in June that it was the administration’s desire to have the elections held in November.
Following that announcement, the PPP said Bulkan was aware of the reality that local government elections could only be held in the second half of next year.
Referring to the party’s statement, Bulkan pointed out that he was not aware of the realties to which it referred but made it clear that the elections “like time or tide would wait on no one. It will not be delayed. It will not deferred any longer.”
He stressed that citizens’ rights would not be treated with callous disregard.
“The necessity for local democracy and its pace of development will not be dictated to by our absent friends,” the minister said. The PPP/C has yet to take up its seats in the House.
He charged that the opposition’s seeming desire to delay the elections is as a result of its fear of the people being empowered to manage their own affairs and liberated from its control. He said the elections have little to do with politics and everything to do with giving people their constitutional rights to take care of their communities.
Over the past year, the western missions and civil society have called for the holding of local government elections.
‘Rebirth of local democracy’
Meanwhile, Bulkan said the amendment bill will now pave the way for the “rebirth of local democracy” in Guyana.
The bill is intended to wrest ministerial control over local authorities and to vest them in the Local Government Commission. It was passed previously by the combined opposition in the 10th Parliament but was vetoed by then President Donald Ramotar, who labeled it unconstitutional.
According to Bulkan, with the passage of the bill the new administration is now in a position to set about the task of repairing the broken system that it inherited.
He pointed out that the management and maintenance of communities, as is set out in the bill, is not the direct responsibility of the central government but rather local government.
“Our communities require constant care and attention; care and attention which it cannot receive from a ministry but rather which is the responsibility of 71 councils and of 585 directly-elected constituency representatives,” he said.
He added that local government elections would cater for this and therefore no one should interfere with the process.
The bill is intended to include Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) in the local government system for all purposes and to make consequential amendments, including increases in penalties in a number of areas. The bill gives the Legal Affairs Minister the power to prescribe fees payable for any process, including the process of parate execution, by order.
According to Bulkan, the failure to hold local government elections for 17 years has led to the county’s local democratic organs being damaged, degraded and rendered dysfunctional. He said the organs do not have the capacity to execute the tasks and to discharge their responsibilities to the people within their jurisdictions. The effects of this situation is evident throughout the country, he said, adding that the recent rainfall that Guyana experienced has made citizens “painfully aware of the dysfunctionality of the system of local administration.”
The minister stated as of May 16th it is the new administration’s responsibility to fix the broken system, which would be achieved with a three step approach—that is, democratic renewal; institutional strengthening and capacity building; and funding of councils.
With the local government elections now possibly slated for December, Bulkan said the other two areas are now being actively addressed so by the time the new councils come into being, the framework will be in place to offer the requisite support to equip and enable to the system to work to deliver in accordance with the expectation of an “overburdened and often time frustrated citizenry.”
‘Unique law force’
Also speaking on the bill was Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, who spoke about the establishment of a constabulary at the NDC level.
Ramjattan said the amendments would see a large portion of the central government power going to the NDCs and identified one such power as the enforcement of the laws.
He said while there is a Guyana Police Force, it cannot address all the issues in relation to law enforcement but a constabulary at the NDC level would have the authority to police the NDCs’ laws.
“We can have the actual policemen under the Police Act doing more core police work and having a constabulary within the NDC ensuring that these other matters be dealt with at that level,” he said while speaking about the potential benefits of this development.
He described it as an innovative amendment to establish another institution of law and order at the NDC level that is going to have the powers of enforcement. He said it was under similar terms that the town constabulary, better known as a city constabulary, was set up, with lots of power to take care of matters within the city of Georgetown and other towns.
According to the minister, there will be no conflict with the police force since the force will always be superior while the constabulary would be an auxiliary at the level of the NDCs.
“It is consistent with the fact that you want to take powers away at the central level and ensure that NDCs and local levels get,” Ramjattan said, adding that the new provisions would also ensure that people at the local level understand the responsibilities, duties and obligations that comes with power.
The amendment also makes provision for the Guyana Police Force to train the members of the constabulary in their duties and they can have powers of arrest after the training and they can also bear fire arms. “So they are going to be… a unique kind of law force agent at the behest of the NDC,” Ramjattan said.
Attorney General Basil Williams said the bill represents the last obstacle to the liberation of the Guyanese people in communities in which they live. He said the previous government had “erected barriers” to ensure that such a bill not become law.
New parliamentarian Michael Carrington also spoke on the bill in his maiden presentation and while he recommended some new amendments, Bulkan later indicated that those issues were addressed and there have been some changes.
