LGE 2023: Georgetown, Linden & New Amsterdam in the spotlight

By Andrew Carmichael

As Guyanese prepare to go to the polls on Monday, much focus will be placed on three main towns – Georgetown, New Amsterdam and Linden. These towns are traditionally controlled by the PNC-led Opposition, but the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic has declared its intention to take over the reins of these townships.
In the 2018 Local Government Elections, the Georgetown municipality saw some 28,436 valid votes cast, of which 18,127 went to APNU, 7,050 to the PPP/C, and 3,059 to the AFC. There were also two other parties that contested those elections in Georgetown, and they pulled a combined total of 200 votes.
Of the 40 available seats on the City Council, only 15 were taken up: 9 by APNU; 4 by the PPP/C and 2 by the AFC. However, the AFC has since given up its two seats, leaving them vacant.
For this year’s local government polls, the PPP/C is fielding two crossover candidates from the APNU: Patricia Chase-Green and Trichria Richards. In 2018, Chase-Green won Constituency 12 on the APNU ticket with 2,212 votes, against PPP/C’s 92 votes in that area. This time, she is now a candidate for the PPP/C in that constituency.
Similarly, Richards had won Constituency 13 with 1,830 votes for the APNU, against PPP/C’s 213 votes in 2018. She is also now contesting as a PPP/C candidate at Monday’s polls. Results will show how effective those cross-overs have been in Georgetown.
Outside of the capital City, the interest in these elections is in New Amsterdam in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and the Municipality of Linden in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The PPP/C seems to have garnered more interest in New Amsterdam, as clear indications have been given that it is going to take control of a town that has been under the leadership of the Peoples National Congress (PNC) and later PNC-led APNU for close to six decades. In fact, the PPP/C closed its campaign with a rally in New Amsterdam at which President Dr Irfaan Ali and the party’s General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo addressed residents of the town, while APNU also closed its campaign with a rally in the town of Saturday, at which its leader, Aubrey Norton, addressed residents of the town.

Only recently, President Ali, while on a visit to the town, said what is happening in New Amsterdam would be replicated in other communities across the country. This was after a number of persons who previously had supported APNU had thrown their support behind the PPP.
In 2018 in Linden, the voter turnout was strong, and 5132 valid ballots were cast. Of that number, 3306 were for APNU and 402 were in favour of the PPP. The AFC got 1075 votes back then. That Town Council is made up of 16 seats, with APNU having 13, the AFC 2, and the PPP/C one.
In Linden, there are several PPP/C candidates who have crossed over from APNU. These include Errof Roetham and Keith Ferrier, who will be contesting in constituencies 6 and 7 respectively. Former Coalition Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford is now also a candidate on the PPP/C slate in Linden.
Meanwhile, in New Amsterdam, there was a very low voter turnout at the 2018 LGE, and only 4063 valid ballots were cast; 2272 going to APNU and 1070 to PPP/C.
New Amsterdam has one crossover candidate, Esan Vanderstoop, who is currently a sitting APNU Councillor on the Town Council. He won Constituency Five at the 2018 Local Government Elections with 280 votes, while the PPP was only able to pick up 72.
This time around, Vanderstoop is also contesting, but he is wearing the PPP colours, being a candidate on the PPP slate.
Interesting is the fact that there are two independent candidates contesting in that constituency: Dr Mark Fraser and Kenroy Henry. Dr Fraser, who works out of the town, has not been seen on the campaign trail. However, Henry told this publication that he wants to be part of the developmental process of New Amsterdam. He said he has the potential to do so.
“Persons can expect transparency, accountability and consistency, because that is something that has been lacking in Constituency 5 and in New Amsterdam generally. Those aspects I will provide when I am elected,” he said.
Polls open across the country at 06:00h on Monday.