Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamall has written to Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh informing her that March 13, 2023, has been appointed as the date for overdue Local Government Elections.
Dharamlall’s letter comes after Singh wrote to him, on Monday, advising that the Commission would be in a position to hold the constitutionally overdue election between March 13 and April 24, 2023.
In a statement, Dharamlall said that the government is committed to upholding democracy and believes that the hosting of local government polls is an important pillar in the country’s democratic political system.
The letter to the GECOM Chair was sent yesterday.
“Please be informed that pursuant to Section 35 (1) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Chapter 28:03, I appoint March 13, 2023, as the day on which elections of Councillors for Local Authorities shall be held,” Dharamlall said in the letter.
The statement added that an order under Section 35 shall be published in the gazette appointing the date. Additionally, some $2.9 Billion has been allocated to GECOM for preparatory works to ensure the successful planning and execution of LGE.
Now that the date of the election has been named, GECOM would now have to announce the relevant dates for nomination and other submissions. Additionally, the secretariat will begin preparation for the procurement of indelible ink, ballot papers and other election-related materials.
Local Government Elections were constitutionally due at the end of last year but GECOM was without a Chief Election Officer and could not have prepared to host the elections. As a result, the Chair wrote to the government informing it of the situation but did commit to confirming a timeline after the appointment of a CEO.
At the beginning of June, the Commission’s Secretariat released a list of vacancies for “polling day staff for Local Government Elections.” The Commission is looking for Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers, Poll Clerks, Ballot Clerks/ Counting Assistants and Information Clerks. That process concluded at the end of June. Stabroek News had reported that the Secretariat decided to go ahead with the advertisement for polling day staff to be prepared for whenever the Commission announces a date.
GECOM embarked on a continuous registration process back in March, particularly targeting new applicants. The continuous registration cycle concluded on May 29, 2022, with over 49,000 persons being registered for the first time. A total of 70,041 transactions were conducted during the period. 28,149 were new registrants between the ages of 14 and 17, while 21,130 were new registrants above the age of 18. Additionally, 4,629 persons applied for transfers, 6,526 persons changed or corrected their information, 7,667 applied for replacement identification cards and 1,940 registrants retook their ID photos.
Late last month, the commission also concluded its claims and objections programme in preparation for the elections.
Justice Singh had told the media that LGE would be held by the end of November. Initially, Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud had proposed December 12 as polling day but that was rejected since it fell out of the statutory timeline.
He came back with a date of February 13, 2023, but was asked to further revise it to mid-January. Earlier in October, Stabroek News reported that March 06, 2023, was being suggested at polling day. However, the Commission could not agree to Persaud’s work plan since there were ancillary issues to be addressed.
