Residents in four Neighbourhood Democra-tic Councils (NDCs) will not be required to vote at the Local Government Elections (LGE) on March 18 as only one list of candidates has been approved to contest the polls in each constituency.
This revelation was made by Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield at a press conference held at the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) media centre yesterday.
According to Lowenfield, the NDC of Mocha/Arcadia, Kintyre/ Borlam and Black Bush Polder and Crabwood Creek/Moleson Creek will see winners declared at the same time as the other local government areas though they will have no actual elections. These winners will however come as no surprise, since according to the published list of candidates the APNU+AFC Coalition is the only grouping contesting in the Mocha/Arcadia NDC, while the PPP/C is the only listed group for the other three no-contest NDCs.
Additionally, 149 of the 580 constituencies will have no first-past-the-post elections as similarly only one candidate has been approved to contest in each of these areas.
The format of this year’s LGE allows each voter to vote twice. Once under a proportional representation system and once under a first-past-the-post system. Each system accounts for 50% of the seats available in each local government area.
Within the 149 constituencies mentioned, voters will still be required to vote under the proportional representation system.
According to Deputy Chief Election Officer (DCEO) Vishnu Persaud, this development has meant that a new element has to be added to the commission’s voter and civic education programme.
“We now have the new challenge to educate and inform the residents of these areas that they will not be required to vote,” he said adding that this aspect will begin on Monday, February 8.
Of particular concern at this time is making members of the Disciplined Forces from those areas aware of the requirement before they are required to go to the polls on March 8.
This duty falls to the ballot officers, whom, according to Gecom, have been identified and gazetted.
