By: Jarryl Bryan
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is tied with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in an unlikely place – the Local Authority Area (LAA) of Industry/Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, where Opposition Leader and APNU Chairman Aubrey Norton lives and voted.
Based on the official Local Government Election (LGE) results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the PPP was able to win nine out of the 18 seats that were being contested. This includes five seats from the Proportional Representation (PR) list and four constituency seats.
PPP/C gained 1775 votes on the PR list, compared to 1746 gained by APNU.
Accordingly, PPP/C gained five PR seats, to APNU’s four. Meanwhile, there was no contest in constituencies two and four. This allowed PPP/C candidates Vickash Basdeo and Anand to win their respective seats unopposed.
Other PPP/C candidates who won their contested seats were Kapildeo Parsaram in constituency one (Industry North) and Vanessa Benn (constituency three, Ogle North). Meanwhile, APNU candidates Conway Douglas (constituency five), Rodwell Lewis (constituency six), Clyde Abel (constituency seven), Dawn Johnson (constituency eight) and Tessa Henry (constituency nine) won their seats.
Norton is a resident of Plaisance. During a press conference he had called on Tuesday after LGE was concluded, Norton had spoken about his dissatisfaction with the results in his home base. According to him, the party would be engaging GECOM on the results.
“One of the first things we want to condemn and we will engage GECOM on it, is the attempt to steal the elections in Industry/ Plaisance, where clearly the APNU would have won and they did some strange mathematical concoction with the hope that the PPP would be able to win that NDC. That will not happen.”
“This is not a case of a recount. This is case of people in the system using the wrong calculation. We will pursue it and ensure it is calculated properly, so that the reality that APNU won Industry/Plaisance, is manifested,” Norton further said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who incidentally also voted in this very LAA as a Sparendaam resident, had said on Tuesday that while the seats are tied, the PPP/C expects to get the Chairmanship of the four areas in which the party tied with APNU… which would include the Industry/Plaisance Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC).
“(PPP) won 62 areas outright, four are tied, but we expect to get the Chairmanship of these four tied areas because we have the majority of the votes… by the way both Norton and I voted in that area. And Norton claimed victory. I’m going to win in this area and stuff like that.
“Well, I voted in the same LAA as Norton and we’re going to win that area now. So, Mr. Norton…bad luck bro,” Jagdeo said.
The PPP/C won the majority of votes in seven of the country’s 10 townships. These include Mabaruma, Mahdia, Lethem, Corriverton, Rose Hall, Bartica and Anna Regina while APNU managed to regain the majority in Georgetown, New Amsterdam, and Linden – two municipalities less than the last polls.
In Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), the PPP/C won 12 seats while APNU secured two. Previously, the PPP/C had eight seats. APNU received 497 votes while PPP got 1491. There were 55 rejected ballots.
In Anna Regina, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), the PPP/C won 15 seats while APNU only secured one. The PPP/C copped 3657 votes while APNU got 505. There were 57 rejected ballots.
Previously, the Party had secured 12 of 16 seats for that municipality.
In Rose Hall, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), the PPP/C won 11 seats while APNU managed to grasp three. The PPP/C got 1008 votes while APNU received 447. There were 21 rejected ballots.
The PPP/C also won all of the constituencies in the town of Corriverton, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). In one of the constituencies, more persons voted for a deceased candidate of the PPP/C than the APNU representative. The PPP got 2314 votes while APNU got 508.
In Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), the PPP/C won the majority of the votes. In 2018, APNU got 1443 votes and the PPP/C got 1144 and AFC 470, but this year, APNU got 1601 and the PPP increased its numbers to 1787.
In Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), the PPP/C also won the majority of votes, with APNU securing 327 votes and the PPP/C, 330 votes. This gives both parties an equal number of seats.
In Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), the PPP/C had a clean sweep of all 10 seats as there was no contest in that township. In 2018, the PPP/C secured three out of the five seats, with APNU earning the other two.
Over at New Amsterdam, Region Six, the PPP/C won six seats with 2336 votes and APNU won eight with 3074 ballots in its favour. In 2018, APNU had 11 seats and the PPP/C had three when those results were tabulated, pointing to dwindling support for the former.
Votes in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) at this year’s polls reflected a win for APNU with 8002 votes. The PPP/C’s votes moved from 402 in 2018 to 2464, earning it two seats as opposed to one at the last LGE. APNU will take up 14 seats on the Town Council.
Finally, in Georgetown, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) the PPP won five of the 15 constituencies, an increase from three in 2018. In 2018, the PPP had secured 6813 votes, but at this year’s polls, ballots in its favour almost doubled to 12,256.
