Dear Editor,
The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has noted several reports in the Media that the Commission was allocated 2.9 billion dollars for the conduct of Local Government Elections.
Please be advised that GECOM’s entire budget for 2018 is 2.9 billion dollars of which the sum for the holding of Local Government Elections is included.
$160M was allocated for capital works and items and $1.6 billion for the normal operations of the Commission. As such, the remaining sum of $1.2 billion was allotted for the conduct of Local Government Elections in November 2018.
In 2016, $1.5 billion dollars was expended for Local Government Elections. This means that the amount currently allocated is believed to be insufficient and GECOM will be engaging the Ministry of Finance to discuss supplemental provisions.
Now that the date for Local Government Elections has been announced as 12th November, 2018, GECOM will be moving ahead with the full implementation of all the required activities in keeping with the statutory timelines as enshrined in the Laws of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Yolanda Ward
Public Relations Officer
Guyana Elections Commission