Although over $1 billion has been earmarked for the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) later this year, the budget does not cater for a new voters’ list as no decision has been taken by the Guyana Elections Commission, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira announced yesterday.
During the consideration of the $4.1 billion allocation for GECOM by the Committee of Supply, Teixeira explained that the money set aside for holding of the delayed polls was not a “lump sum” but rather was spread across line items.
She explained that while the $783 million will be spent on covering expenses such as training, advertisements, printing of election day materials, and renting of containers, among other things, some $583 million has also been budgeted under the line item of Wages and Salaries to pay close to 10,000 temporary elections day staff.