LGE 2018 Nomination Day
– 21 voluntary groups, 33 individuals contesting separately
Candidates for Guyana’s major political parties and other smaller players will between 10:00h and 14:00h today present their lists of candidates to Returning Officers at offices of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the Local Authority Areas (LAAs) in which they are contesting. This is the major step ahead of the 2018 Local Government Elections (LGE) which is set for November 12. Members of the Disciplined Services will head to the polls on November 12.
GECOM has disclosed that seven political parties, 21 voluntary groups and 33 individuals are vying for victories in some or all of the LLAs. The Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) are contesting in all municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC), while the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is contesting in eighty LAAs.
The United Republic Party (URP) and the United Party for National Growth and Development are competing in all LAAs, while the Guyana National Congress (GNC) is expected to submit candidates for LAAs in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) only. The GNS party will meanwhile only contest in all of the 10 municipalities. These 10 include the city of Georgetown and nine towns. 
The towns are Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini); Anna Regina in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); New Amsterdam (the country’s oldest), Corriverton and Rose Hall in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). Additionally, candidates will contest in Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and Linden (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Some of the 21 voluntary groups contesting include Independent Group for Local Development in the Best/Klien Pouderoyen NDC; People’s Village Movement in Diamond Place/Golden Grove; and the Kwakwani United for Progress (KUFP) contesting in Kwakwani NDC.
Meanwhile, 33 individuals are vying to be representatives in 26 constituencies across the country. These include Phyllis Carter in Constituency Four in the Mora/Parika NDC and Ronald M Griffith in Constituency Seven of Wakenaam Island NDC. There are 12 persons contesting in various constituencies in Georgetown, which is the largest LAA. This list includes Malcolm De Freitas who had also contested in Constituency One at the last LGE which was held in March 2016. For this November polls, Rajendra Bissessar will contest in the Buxton/Foulis NDC in Constituency Six, while Omeshwar Sirikishun will contest Constituency Four of Bloomfield/Whim.
Only the political parties, voluntary groups and individuals with approved symbols to contest Local Government Elections 2018 will be allowed to submit their lists of candidates, having used the prescribed GECOM forms. These lists will be examined by the Returning Officers to determine whether they were properly submitted in accordance with the relevant laws.
The two major parties; the PPP and the APNU, told Guyana Times that they are ready and beaming with confidence to participate in today’s proceedings. APNU Campaign Manager, Amna Ally said all arrangements and all logistics were sorted out. Ally is the General Secretary of the APNU’s major coalition partner, the People’s National Congress and she added that APNU remains confident that it will be able to secure a resounding victory at the November 12 elections.
The PPP is similarly upbeat about its prospects for victory at the upcoming polls with General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo telling reporters on Thursday that once their lists have been submitted, they will speak more on their platform for LGE and how they selected candidates.
“Right across Guyana, people are busy preparing to submit their lists of candidates and we in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) are also the preparation to do so,” Jagdeo stated.
With just over 50 days to go before Local Government Elections, the GECOM said symbols it received from the seven political parties was an increase compared to the three from 2016 that contested. If the list is considered defective, the representative/deputy representative will be notified by the Returning Officer. If the party, group or individual is not satisfied with the reasons provided by the Returning Officer, they can file an appeal against refusal of approval no later than the 45th day before Elections Day to a Magistrate of the magisterial district.
In the 2016 election, the voter turnout was 47.10 per cent. Cane Grove in Region Four saw the highest turnout with 63.56 per cent while Linden, a stronghold of the APNU, recorded the lowest, whereby out of 23,880 people eligible to vote, only 8395 cast their ballots and 116 were rejected. Georgetown, another APNU stronghold saw 37.66 per cent with 42,313 out of the 112,364 voting. In the end, the PPP/C recorded victories in 48 out the 71 LAAs. However, the PPP/C and APNU/AFC coalition tied in Mabaruma. Those elections returned after an absence of 22 years.
