The Government of Canada through the local High Commission has signed an agreement that will see it offering Cdn$20,000 ($2.8M) worth of support to the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom).
The agreement, which was signed at Gecom’s office yesterday morning, is the latest effort by the international community to support the holding of local government elections in Guyana.
Local government elections, which will be run off in 71 local government areas on March 18, are being held for the first time in 22 years. Yesterday, Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield noted that as an addendum to the $1.908B which the commission has set aside for the holding of local government elections, the sum received yesterday will be used to assist in sourcing equipment to assist with its civic and voter education strategy.
Canadian High Com-missioner Pierre Giroux explained that the funds have been earmarked for the purchase of “printers, an overhead projector, heavy duty shredders, public address systems and 2,000 booklets that will be distributed to the parties before the election.”
A sum of $8.3M, received last week from the Indian High Commission, will be used to procure equipment to allow easier access to the hinterland districts.
“It will be used for extra all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for the rough areas that we have to traverse and things such as outboard engines et cetera,” Gecom Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally said.
Noting that local government elections “are a very important part of the processes that bring government closer to the people, as it fosters greater inclusion, civic responsibility and empowerment and participation,” Giroux said that the Canadian government is committed to supporting such processes and was, therefore, extremely pleased when it heard of the fixed date for the polls. They have not been held since 1994.
Surujbally noted that despite claims otherwise, Gecom has been doing a lot as part of its civic and voter education programme for the polls. He, however, acknowledged that more can and will be done.
He said that approximately 100,000 brochures have been printed for an average electorate of 400,000, which equals one brochure for every four voters.
Asked to share Gecom’s efforts to tailor its message to the varying levels of literacy within the country, Deputy Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud explained that several efforts have been made since September last year. He said Gecom has been preparing flyers about different elements of the elections and has been arranging interactive meetings in every local government area. “The response to these meetings have been less than expected,” he said.
Persaud added that the funds sourced from the Canadian government will be used to deploy public address systems to each local government area to augment the programme presently being pursued.
He further explained that efforts to include several civil society organisations in Gecom’s efforts have failed.
“We wrote letters to 96 civil society organisations across the regions inviting them to arrange meetings of their membership and other members of the public so that we can have interactive sessions… to date, only five responded favourably and those meetings were held,” Persaud said.
He also reiterated that Gecom will be intensifying its efforts to educate the public leading up to and even beyond Nomination Day, which will be held on January 26.
