The ruling APNU+AFC coalition has won 15 of the 16 seats on the new Linden Town Council, according to results from last Friday’s polls in the mining town.
The coalition won all eight of the First-Past-the-Post seats and seven of the proportional representation seats at the polls, which candidates said saw low turnout like in other parts of the country. The remaining proportional representation seat went to voluntary group Linden 2025.
Voters in Linden had the option of the voting for the governing APNU+AFC coalition, the PPP/C or one of two newly-formed voluntary groups, Linden 2025 and Linden Ambassadors for Progress.
Speaking with Stabroek News last evening, leader of Linden 2025 Samuel Wright said that while his group was disappointed, it believed the results clearly represent the will of the people of Linden.
“We tried to challenge 50 years of established behaviour and were soundly defeated,” he said, while adding that his group hopes the new council delivers to the people of Linden what is best for them.
He noted that his group will continue to work for the betterment of municipality.
“Linden 2025’s vision is broader and wider than the election. We will continue to work for the realisation of a better community,” he said.
According to Wright, the group has not yet decided who will take up the seat.
“We are presently discussing who will take up the seat. We must consider who will serve the community best, especially since we are entering into a council of 15 to 1 in a community not known for decency in our council,” he said.
Wright said the low voter turnout and the results reflect an uninformed population.
“It has been in the interest of the larger political entities to keep the people uninformed and the coalition benefited from that at the elections,” he said.
The other voluntary group which contested the polls in Linden was of a similar view. Norris King, speaking on behalf of Linden Ambassadors for Progress, noted that while a lot of people didn’t vote, the few that did chose the coalition because they were accustomed to voting for it.
Nonetheless, he was adamant that his group is sticking around.
“We are here; we will be here. We are here; we will keep working and we will be ready in three years to prove to the people that we can best represent them,” he said.
Norris maintained that voters need to be aware that local democracy should rest with local people.
“National problems are not local problems and it is a conflict of interest to have persons attached to central government involved in running local democracy. However, the people have spoken and we respect that,” he explained.
Lennox Gasper, APNU+AFC candidate for Linden’s Constituency 2, acknowledged that he won his seat on the strength of the coalition. He told Stabroek News that he was humbled at the results even as he was disappointed at the turnout.
According to Gasper, having conducted his own exit poll, he has recognised that a lot of persons voted traditionally.
“They voted for the party not for any individual candidates so that has put a lot on us to prove ourselves,” he said. He added that because they have been advanced by the symbol of the coalition and not by what they themselves offered their constituency, the next three years requires them to distinguish themselves and train the people of Linden to vote by issues and not by party.
He further noted that he remains willing to work with those who were unable to make it into the council and has reached out to his competitors making this offer.
