The stalemate in the dialogue between President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/R Leader Desmond Hoyte is affecting the work of the local government reform bipartisan committee and causing government concerns about the holding of local government polls this year, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon says.

The administration, he said intends "to utilise what strategies and tactics are available to bring them [the PNC/R] back to the dialogue table," Dr Luncheon also the Head of the Presidential Secretariat said yesterday.

Briefing reporters on issues addressed at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting he noted the absence of the PNC/R at the last two meetings of the committee and said this would affect the timely conclusions of the local government constitutional reform process.

Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally has already told Stabroek News that local government elections will not be possible this year because of the number of things still to be done.

The committee was appointed under the aegis of the dialogue process between Jagdeo and Hoyte. At present the opposition party has declared a position of non-cooperation with the government unless a number of matters are addressed.

Electoral reform in the local government system, Luncheon said, was one of the many matters being addressed "at the bipartisan level and only at the bipartisan level."

He said that the stance of the PNC/R has added to its earlier resolve to put the dialogue process on hold. He said that as before, the Office of the President rejected the PNC/R's decision, which, he said, now threatened the local government reform process.