…both confident of victory at November polls
By Michael Younge
The two major political parties contesting this year’s Local Government Elections (LGE) on Wednesday confirmed that they are ready and beaming with confidence to participate in Friday’s Nomination Day proceedings which will take place at various locations across the country.
On Nomination Day here, political parties, voluntary groups and individuals contesting in Local Government Elections 2018 are required to submit their Lists of Candidates to the Returning Officer in the contesting Local Authority Areas (LAA). Those lists will be examined by the Returning Officer to determine whether they have been submitted in accordance with the Local Authorities (Elections) Act,
Chapter 28:03.
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.
Speaking with Guyana Times on Wednesday, the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Campaign Manager, Amna Ally, explained that all plans have been completed and the coalition is fully prepared for Nomination Day.
“I am happy to report that we have completed all of our arrangements and we are fully prepared… everything is in place and all of our logistics have been sorted out,” Ally said.
She stated that the APNU remains confident that it will be able to secure a resounding victory at the November 12 elections, even though she admitted that the voters and residents in the various communities will have a huge role to play in handing the party that victory.
“I have confidence in the people we are putting forward… We have a good team of candidates even though some of them are not party members,” Ally remarked when questioned as to the quality and kind of persons being put forward by the coalition of parties.
Ally, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which is the largest single party in the coalition, said their campaign strategy is sound and well-thought out.
She also advised those candidates going forward to be confident and put in their best performances, given the importance of Local Government Elections. Ally poured cold water on remarks from other LGE contenders that they possess the
ability to unseat the PNC or the wider coalition in several areas because of its poor performance at the Local Government and Central Government levels.
“Let go right ahead and try,” she remarked, as she explained that it is the poor performance of parties such as the PPP and its track record in office at all levels that resulted in it losing power and occupying the Opposition benches. She assured that the APNU is being very careful not make the same mistakes as the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP at both the Central and Local Government levels.
PPP upbeat
Meanwhile, executives from the main Opposition Peoples Progressive Party are upbeat and ready for Friday’s proceedings, which will see the Party submitting its own List of Candidates in almost all of the various Local Government Authorities who would like to be elected.
PPP Executive Secretary and parliamentarian Zulfikar Mustapha confirmed that the party is ready since it has tied up all of the necessary preparatory works.
“We have been ready for a while now and we remain humble and committed to the task of Government for the people and by the people. We believe in LGE and its ability to impact the lives of residents at all levels of the community,” he remarked.
Mustapha said that the party’s General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, would expand today on the full state of the Party’s readiness for not only Nominations Day Friday, but LGE in general, when he meets the press at his weekly media conference scheduled for today.
Another PPP campaign manager for the Georgetown Area, while at Freedom House on Wednesday that the levels of optimism within the ranks of the Party are high because the Party’s membership understands what is at stake.
“People are taking this election seriously because they are tired of the mismanagement and hardships they are currently facing at the hands of FLAP-NU…sorry I mean the APNU,” the manager remarked.
Additionally, other areas along the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara appear ready with one of the PPP’s Campaign Manager for a section of the East Coast confirming that his team is fully prepared.
“We are contesting eight of nine constituencies… We have a vast mixture of candidates. Our lists comprise of youth and experience. These candidates that are well aware of the needs of their community and are willing to make every representation for those needs to be met,” Campaign Manager for the Better Hope/La Bonne Intention area, Zaman Shaw remarked.
He also reported that after Nomination Day and its proceedings, a parade will take place from Massy Distributions Square on the public road and end at the Better Hope Market Square when a community meeting will be held.
With less than 51 days to go before Local Government Elections (LGE), the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has received and approved a total of 62 symbols from groups and individuals contesting in the elections.
GECOM has confirmed it is in receipt of symbols from seven political parties, an increase compared to the three from 2016 that contested. In an interview with Guyana Times, the Commission’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Warde explained that they also have symbols from voluntary groups and independents.
