The Inter-Religious Organizations of Guyana is calling on Guyanese to go out and vote at Monday’s Local Government Elections (LGE), and also urged the citizenry to accept the outcome of those polls.
In a statement on Friday, IROG Chairman, Dr Ronald McGarrell reminded that eligible voters are allowed to exercise their constitutional right to cast their ballot for representatives within Guyana’s 10 Municipalities (Town Councils) and 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).
According to the Head of the religious body, Guyanese enjoy freedom at the voting booth to choose those who serve in Government.
“It is both a privilege and a duty to participate in the election of our Government officials. The next leaders at our local level are chosen by the people and then sworn into office, which is a testimony to our democratic process,” he noted.
Dr McGarrell went on to note that it is not the mandate of IROG to tell citizens whom they should cast their ballot for but can urge them to go out and exercise their constitutional right.
“We take this opportunity to urge you to exercise responsible citizenship by making your choice at the poll. It is essential that you educate yourself on the issues that are critical to your various communities and weigh them against our various faith and spiritual teachings in order to make an informed decision.”
“Participation in the electoral process is an obligation of good citizenship and the IROG promotes and encourages all of us to be good citizens of our beautiful country. Voting on Election Day, June 12 is one way to exercise our role as people of faith, who must be concerned about who will represent us in and about public policies which will affect our lives and the lives of many throughout Guyana,” the IROG Chairman posited.
On the other hand, Dr McGarrell further encouraged persons to ensure they accept the results of the upcoming local government polls.
“The winner may not end up being the candidate of your choice but the decision of the people must be accepted through the election, which guarantees a peaceful and beneficial outcome in our communities,” he stated.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the upcoming polls, a number of political parties, groups and individuals participating in LGE 2023 signed a code of conduct last month that was administered by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). However, the Opposition-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was the only party that did not show up to sign the code, which binds contestants to promote ethnic harmony and avoid hate speech and actions that would disrupt the peace.
On Friday, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said preparations are in place for the smooth holding of the LGE next week.
Chief Elections Officer Vishnu Persaud told reporters at a press conference that some results could be available as soon as Monday evening, especially for those Local Authority Areas (LAAs) where there is no contest.
GECOM had previously announced that there are 13 LAAs with a combined total of 98 constituencies, and 193 additional constituencies from among other LAAs, where there will be no need for eligible persons to vote because of unopposed Lists, that is, only one political party/group/individual is contesting the elections.
The current ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic is contesting all 610 constituencies in the 80 LAAs across the country. Reports are that the APNU is only contesting 260 of the 610 constituencies, while groups and individuals are contesting, outside of those 260 areas, in another 58 constituencies. This means that APNU and other groups or individuals are contesting a total of 318 constituencies in 67 LAAs.
PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo had said that his party has essentially won those 292 uncontested constituencies and 13 LAAs.
At the last LGE held in November 2018, the then PPP/C Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 LAAs. This had followed the holding of the 2016 Local Government polls, where the PPP/C had also claimed the majority of the LAAs.
