Getting
set for Local Government Elections in 2004
A GINA Feature, February 06, 2004
Upcoming Local Government elections will be of
significant importance to Guyana as citizens have been awaiting
those elections for some seven years to date. These polls are
held to elect new Councillors to Municipalities and Neighbourhood
Democratic Councils.
Prior to the advent of the PPP-Civic administration, Local Government
elections were held in 1970 under the administration of the then
Prime Minister Mr. Forbes Burnham.
They were held in two stages. The first stage was in June 1970
and the second stage was in December 1970. However the first stage
did not meet with the satisfaction of the opposition parties and
they boycotted the second stage, demanding electoral reform. There
was need to ensure greater people's participation and integrity
of the polls.
One experiment of the previous administration
was to appoint a Regional Minister, but this was discontinued
when further changes were made to the overall governmental system.
With the promulgation of the 1980 Constitution,
the Regional System was born with Councillors thereto being elected
simultaneously with Members of the National Assembly and the President
of the Republic. One feature of this change was the division of
Guyana into 10 administrative Regions. Sub-regions and districts
were also demarcated.
Further changes have since taken place arising
from the Constitutional Reform Commission of 2000. These changes
pertain to decentralisation of powers, fiscal transfers from Central
Government to Local Government organs, the establishment of a
Local Government Commission and the eligibility of individuals
to contest Local Government elections.
The electoral changes mean that the various
communities will now have a direct influence in choosing their
Councillors. Prior to these changes, the selection of candidates
for elections was done by the political parties and groups contesting
those elections. It is stipulated in the Constitutional amendments
that the next Local Government elections should be held under
the new system, which, among other features, permits an individual
to contest on his or her own behalf.
It should be noted that between the years 1970
and 1993, no Local Government elections were held: The new PPP-Civic
administration held these elections in 1994. There is therefore
a gap of nearly 24 years between elections. This represents a
period when the various communities had very little say in Local
Government matters.
Note should also be made of the absence in Guyana
of Village Councils. These were dissolved in 1990 by the previous
administration to make way for the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.
The Constitution now instructs that Village Councils should be
restored and that a further organ to be called the “Community
Council” should also be established.
These changes are engaging the attention of the
Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform set up in 2001 by
His Excellency the President Mr Bharrat Jagdeo and the then Opposition
Leader, Mr Desmond Hoyte. That Task Force which is still functioning,
is shortly to submit its Report to the two Leaders.
The last Local Government Elections were held
under democratic conditions on August 8, 1994 under the administration
of the People's Progressive Party-Civic {PPP-C} with the following
election planned for 1997. In that year, the PPP/C won 80% of
Councils.
For various reasons, including the fact that general elections
were billed for the same year, those Local Government elections
planned for 1997 had to stand down. They were postponed by Parliament.
Legislation passed by the National Assembly
deferred the 1997 elections to 1998. Since then, numerous obstacles
have impeded Local Government elections being held.
Other impediments included the post elections political disturbances
when elections were scheduled to be held.
Government has intimated that it is seeking to have elections
held in 2004 and has suggested October as the month for those
polls.
Citizens have long been agitating for the replacement
of some members of present councils. They are also demanding that
they be allowed greater participation in the management of their
communities. Communities are asking for better infrastructure,
including roads, canals, culverts, parapets and agricultural facilities.
The Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform
comprises members of the People's Progressive Party/Civic and
the People's National Congress/Reform.
The Report of the Task Force was delayed as a result of a disagreement
between the two parties on the electoral system and the concept
of fiscal transfers. Pronouncements are now being made by the
opposition PNCR, inferring that it has no confidence in the data
base used in the 2001 general election. This is seen by the PPP-Civic
as a ruse to further derail local government elections in 2004.
The PNC/R stated on numerous occasions that
it does not trust the procedures carried out in the previous election
nor even the results, and so to use the same registration list
to carry out Local Government elections could not be considered
valid either, though the party's members were involved in all
aspects of the planning activities and processes during elections.
Presently, democratically elected Community and Village Councils
exist now in Amerindian localities. These Councils are governed
by the Amerindian Act, which is also being revised as some laws
are not compatible with the changes in Amerindian villages and
Guyanese society as a whole.
Local Government elections are especially needed now to deepen
democracy, which has been the aim of the present administration.
They were postponed for too long and many Councillors have not
been attending meetings while citizens are becoming impatient
about having a say in their community's affairs.
In order to speed up the process and to ensure that Local Government
Elections are held this year, President Bharrat Jagdeo will meet
with all Local Government stakeholders, including the donor communities
on Monday, February 9.
It is very clear that the PPP/C Government wants Local Government
Elections to be held this year.
Friday,
February 6, 2004