The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has made no decisions about the certifying of an Official List of Electors for Local Government Elections due by the end of this year even as by-elections in two Local Government Areas (LGA) have become necessary.
Local Government Elections are due at the end of 2021 but Stabroek News has learnt that in two Neighbourhood Dem-ocratic Councils (NDCs) from the 2018 elections there exist vacancies for Constituency Councilors.
Constituency 6 of Aberdeen/Zorg-en-Vlygt NDC is currently without a representative. The Councillor who previously held that seat was John Walcott of APNU. The other vacancy exists in the Malgre Tout/Meerzergeen NDC.
The reasons for the two vacancies remain unclear but the Local Authorities (Election) (Amendment) Act prescribes that in such a situation the Clerk of the Council shall inform the Commission which shall instruct the Chief Election Officer to hold a by-election.
Specifically a by-election is defined in the legislation as a special election held between regular elections to fill a vacancy occurring in the office of a councillor in respect of the first-past-the-post component of local government.
Deputy Chief Election Officer Roxanne Myers confirmed to Stabroek News yesterday that the Commission has been informed of the vacancies and explained that the Secretariat is currently awaiting instructions.
“The Commission was notified of the vacancies this year,” she shared.
At the centre of the delay is the absence of an Official List of Electors (OLE). The last OLE was issued by GECOM on February 2, 2020 and expired six months later.
According to Myers the Commission is currently debating whether to updates the OLE for the entire Country or the OLE for the specific Local Government Areas which require by-elections.
“There are differing views at the level of the Commission,” she noted.
Either option would require the announcement of a Claims and Objections period to allow for the relevant OLE to be updated.
