Dear Editor,
I am from a new generation which has not had experience of previous local government elections in Guyana. I don’t have anything against them; I think they’re a good thing, but out of a cynical attitude towards same, I ponder about the upcoming LGE which will be the third election within the space of a year in Guyana, a poor country with less than a million people. First there was the national general election, followed by the Amerindian village council elections, and soon there will be the local government elections, to complete the governmental structure in Guyana.
In the general elections everyone can vote, while in the Amerindian village council elections, if you are an ‘outsider’ you cannot vote even if you have lived in the village for a long time. For the local government elections, if you live in an Amerindian Village which is annexed to a regional office and you have the desire to vote, you cannot, unless you reside within the geographic area. Editor, what a confusing country we live in.
In the case of Guyana at present the obsession is to urbanize the hinterland and extinguish traditional culture. However, on the positive side it is hoped that following the local government elections, services can be decentralized, and the poor people of the hinterland will be able to obtain a passport and police clearance (among others) in designated regional offices rather than spending a lot of money to travel to Georgetown for same.
Yours faithfully,
Medino Abraham
