Local democracy must be strengthened through LGEs

Dear Editor,
Our people must live a good life, and the contributors to a worrisome environment every five years when election time comes around must soon be far removed. The Guyanese nation welcomes the press release from Justice (retd) Claudette Singh, Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), indicating readiness of the institution to host Local Government Elections by May 22 this year.
The position became evident following a recent heartening report which confirmed the Chairman and Commissioners approved the work plan recommended by the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) towards the run-off of this seriously overdue constitutional obligation. The confirmation of the election date as notified, therefore, is likely with the approval of the Minister of Local Government, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall. Following the precedent of the Hon. Minister’s previous swift approval before legal challenges were advanced as an affront by Opposition forces, one should expect no delay.
Now that GECOM has made the necessary adjustments to remove the possibly challengeable concerns, the expectations are that these elections will be held on the newly approved date. Emerging from the foregoing is a sense of keen apprehension among our citizens and interested stakeholders that is worthy of discussion.
One suspects that the previous signal of withdrawal from the AFC arm of the Opposition would stand for fear of citizens’ rejection, given their wicked role in the March 2020 elections plot. Concerning Aubrey Norton’s PNC/R, his participation becomes almost a ‘force majeure’ measure, since pulling out is likely to create a greater internal threat to his leadership position.
The likely anxieties can be attributed to many factors, including fear of failure on the Opposition’s part, as a consequence of the deep scars on the psyche of most Guyanese people, caused by their dirty contributions in the March 2020 debacle. Further, the possibility of existing remnants still in the GECOM setup is a cause for concern, in addition to unfinished matters still in the Courts relative to those charged for the flagrant abuse of our elections’ laws.
Importantly, the Opposition is aware that most of our civil-minded citizens would not ignore the persistence of blatant Opposition efforts to delay the runoff of these polls. Also worthy of critical mention in this framework is the seemingly subjective and challengeable position adopted by the Court of Appeal (CoA) concerning Election Petition 88 of 2020 (being addressed at another level), and the abusive, obstructionist role of Opposition Commissioners at the Guyana Elections Commission that continue to attract far too much attention.
Editor, many leading players in the Opposition ranks must at this time be contemplating the adage ‘when it rains it pours’. Now that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the dangerous and dirty events surrounding the 2020 General and Regional Elections has been wrapped up, there obviously will be significant uneasiness for those who played active roles from behind the scenes. Our people should not be sympathetic! If you do a crime, you should spend the time!
The recent amendments to applicable elections legislation were purposed on deterring many of the abuses at our elections. On the occasion of these LGEs, there will be an opportunity to test the efficacy or impact of some of the changes. More importantly, the recommendations of the CoI are likely to lend the consideration of our lawmakers to critical areas of improvement that should be tackled with alacrity. As we pursue planned electoral reforms this year, the CoI’s contributions through this conditional situational analysis could not be timelier.
One key national ideal is that General and Regional Elections are compulsory every five years, and this nation must not be put at risk, and our people must not allow ‘Riggers’ to put their knees on our people’s necks. It is expected that, with all these litigation and court issues, rigging will come to an end. However, for us to have free and fair elections, GECOM must cleanse itself and remove all the “rogue” elements.
Critically, the reforms must address an objective approach to evaluating the performance and balance of appointed GECOM Commissioners. While our constitution pronounces regarding unstable and mentally-ill conditions as an approach to removal, the specific measure is not definitive. Consequently, the approach must be reviewed, and Commissioners who changed over twenty jobs must not be allowed a permanent seat at GECOM. Commissioners at GECOM must not be allowed to sport for years without any major or meaningful contributions. The Parliament must be one of few places where our citizens can function as long as they are elected by the people.
I wish to applaud and congratulate the efforts of the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Vishnu Persaud, who has certainly demonstrated that he is knowledgeable of the operational work of the Election Commission. Hence, the Commission must put all systems in place to hold Local Government Elections now.
Our people are deserving of increased benefits from the PPP/C Government’s tremendous transformation and development that are taking place in Guyana. Local democracy must be strengthened through the LGEs to facilitate a smoother transition of gains at the local authority levels.

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar