Today is Nomination Day for the much- anticipated Local Government Elections (LGE) which are slated to take place on November 12, 2018 in Guyana, notwithstanding the pending legal challenge that is facing the courts in relation to the newly created boundaries for certain Local Authorities, and the establishment of at least nine new constituencies without prior consultation with key stakeholders.
It is expected that close to 61 contenders will crowd the offices of the various Returning Officers across the country, to submit their lists of potential candidates who are vying for a chance to be elected to either Head or serve in various Local Authority Areas over the next two years.
According to the Guyana Elections Commission, there are some thirty-four (34) individuals who will be competing in the November LGEs, alongside seven (7) major political parties and twenty-one (21) voluntary groups.
On Wednesday, the two main political parties competing, which are the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), indicated their readiness and confidence ahead of the processes which are taking place today.
After all of the fanfare, pomp and ceremony associated with the presentation of the various candidates’ lists, a newfound level of sobriety will permeate the land, as Guyanese will finally have an opportunity to see who will be running within their respective constituencies, and will no doubt begin the process of deciding whom they are willing to support and whom they will not back under any circumstance.
Given the importance of the process today and the integrity of those who are running for high office, the public debate and discussions on the nominees themselves and their various manifestos are expected to be livid, to say the least.
As is the norm, the staging of Nomination Day marks the official commencement of the campaign period in the lead up to the actual LGE. This period would see those competing staging community meetings, rallies and other political events across the country with the hope of clinching the support of undecided voters.
And while it is not necessary, it is likely that the bigger players, which are the political parties, would seek to outmanoeuvre the smaller community groups and individuals through advertisements and the utilisation of their larger-scale elections campaign machinery, to double down on available opportunities to maintain their support base while breaking new ground.
But citizens must ensure that they arm themselves intellectually with the facts surrounding the state of affairs of their communities, villages and municipalities. They must also hold those leaders who have served since the historic return of LGE, back in March of 2016, to account for their failures and inability to deliver improvements in the lives of residents on varying fronts, wherever they may exist.
After all, residents can ill-afford a continuity of the current status quo in many communities plagued by high levels of crime, solid waste management crises, poor community roads and infrastructure, and poor drainage and irrigation. Citizens, regardless of where they stand on the political divide, must also recall the scandals and controversies related to acts of financial mismanagement, corruption, and wastage of resources, in order to make a good decision about whom to support at the November polls.
It is imperative, if local democracy is to work, that they also look at the track record of those parties, community groups and individuals who are competing for their vote. How has the APNU governed at the Central Government level over the past three years? And what has been the level of support provided to the local democratic organs in order for them to achieve their mandates? How has the PPP, as a party, governed? And what was the scope of local development compared to its successor? What expertise or skills do these new community groups and leaders possess? And how do they propose to transform their communities?
The truth is, these elections will also give insight to the voting patterns that may prevail at the Regional and General Elections in 2020. They expose the mood of the populace while also shedding some light on the gains made by the Opposition, if any, since 2015 at the local government level.
