UPCOMING Local Government elections will be of significant importance to Guyana as citizens have been awaiting those elections for some seven years to date. These polls are held to elect new Councillors to Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.
Prior to the advent of the PPP-Civic administration, Local Government elections were held in 1970 under the administration of the then Prime Minister Mr. Forbes Burnham.
They were held in two stages. The first stage was in June 1970 and the second stage was in December 1970. However, the first stage did not meet with the satisfaction of the opposition parties and they boycotted the second stage, demanding electoral reform. There was need to ensure greater people's participation and integrity of the polls.
One experiment of the previous administration was to appoint a Regional Minister, but this was discontinued when further changes were made to the overall governmental system.
With the promulgation of the 1980 Constitution, the Regional System was born with Councillors thereto being elected simultaneously with Members of the National Assembly and the President of the Republic. One feature of this change was the division of Guyana into 10 administrative Regions. Sub-regions and districts were also demarcated.
Further changes have since taken place arising from the Constitutional Reform Commission of 2000. These changes pertain to decentralisation of powers, fiscal transfers from Central Government to Local Government organs, the establishment of a Local Government Commission and the eligibility of individuals to contest Local Government elections.
The electoral changes mean that the various communities will now have a direct influence in choosing their Councillors. Prior to these changes, the selection of candidates for elections was done by the political parties and groups contesting those elections. It is stipulated in the Constitutional amendments that the next Local Government elections should be held under the new system, which, among other features, permits an individual to contest on his or her own behalf.
It should be noted that between the years 1970 and 1993, no Local Government elections were held: The new PPP-Civic administration held these elections in 1994. There is therefore a gap of nearly 24 years between elections. This represents a period when the various communities had very little say in Local Government matters.
Note should also be made of the absence in Guyana of Village Councils. These were dissolved in 1990 by the previous administration to make way for the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. The Constitution now instructs that Village Councils should be restored and that a further organ to be called the `Community Council’ should also be established.
These changes are engaging the attention of the Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform set up in 2001 by His Excellency the President Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo and the then Opposition Leader, Mr. Desmond Hoyte. That Task Force, which is still functioning, is shortly to submit its Report to the two Leaders.
The last Local Government Elections were held under democratic conditions on August 8, 1994 under the administration of the People's Progressive Party-Civic {PPP-C} with the following election planned for 1997. In that year, the PPP/C won 80 per cent of Councils.
For various reasons, including the fact that general elections were billed for the same year, those Local Government elections planned for 1997 had to stand down. They were postponed by Parliament.
Legislation passed by the National Assembly deferred the 1997 elections to 1998. Since then, numerous obstacles have impeded Local Government elections being held.
Other impediments included the post elections political disturbances when elections were scheduled to be held.
Government has intimated that it is seeking to have elections held in 2004 and has suggested October as the month for those polls.
Citizens have long been agitating for the replacement of some members of present councils. They are also demanding that they be allowed greater participation in the management of their communities. Communities are asking for better infrastructure, including roads, canals, culverts, parapets and agricultural facilities.
The Joint Task Force on Local Government Reform comprises members of the People's Progressive Party/Civic and the People's National Congress/Reform.
The Report of the Task Force was delayed as a result of a disagreement between the two parties on the electoral system and the concept of fiscal transfers. Pronouncements are now being made by the opposition PNCR, inferring that it has no confidence in the data base used in the 2001 general election. This is seen by the PPP-Civic as a ruse to further derail local government elections in 2004.
The PNC/R stated on numerous occasions that it does not trust the procedures carried out in the previous election nor even the results, and so to use the same registration list to carry out Local Government elections could not be considered valid either, though the party's members were involved in all aspects of the planning activities and processes during elections.
Presently, democratically elected Community and Village Councils exist now in Amerindian localities. These Councils are governed by the Amerindian Act, which is also being revised as some laws are not compatible with the changes in Amerindian villages and Guyanese society as a whole.
Local Government elections are especially needed now to deepen democracy, which has been the aim of the present administration. They were postponed for too long and many Councillors have not been attending meetings while citizens are becoming impatient about having a say in their community's affairs.
In order to speed up the process and to ensure that Local Government Elections are held this year, President Bharrat Jagdeo will tomorrow meet with all Local Government stakeholders, including the donor communities.
It is very clear that the PPP/C Government wants Local Government Elections to be held this year.