Political parties, voluntary groups and individuals submitted their Lists of Candidates to contest the Local Government Elections which will be held on November 12.
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, speaking at Nomination Day for the Local Government Elections (LGE) on Friday at the Critchlow Labour College, said this event is a very crucial step in the evolution of democratic governance in Guyana.
Bulkan said he was excited about the state of local democracy in Guyana.
“The Local Government Election [LGE] will be held on held on 12th November and it will mark the first time in the Post Independent history of Guyana, that successive Local Government Elections are being held as legally and constitutionally due,” the minister emphasised.
Meanwhile the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) presented eighty (80) lists of candidates to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the upcoming November 12, LGE.
The Party said it sought as far as possible to select the candidates for the Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils through a series of extensive community and house-to-house consultations throughout the country with the aim of having maximum inclusion.
“Hence, our Local Elections Organizing Committees were instructed to include non-PPP members to have a balance between PPP and non-PPP candidates. This resulted in our lists comprising a number of prominent members of civil society” the Party said in statement.
“Further, our lists reflect the diversity of Guyana and represent the multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature of the People’s Progressive Party, one of the founding principles of the PPP. Another element of our lists is the involvement of a large number of young people and women.”
The ruling A Partnership for National Unity coalition (APNU) and the PPP turned up early at the respective offices of the GECOM Returning Officers to submit their list of candidates as they took part in the proceedings.
Also contesting by themselves is the Alliance for Change (AFC) which is part of the ruling APNU.
For Georgetown, the AFC, which was much smaller in numbers, noted that they were contesting the full slate for the First Past the Post and had 26 persons on their PR list.
APNU was meanwhile put on the spot as they were confronted with a number of issues they presided over as the majority party on the City Council.
These instances include the controversial parking meter project and non-payment of salaries and NIS.
APNU Deputy Mayor Akeem Peters apologised on behalf of his party, noting that while they did not meet the expectations of some they still deserved another chance.
Asked directly whether he himself was satisfied with his contribution on the council since being elected there, Peters professed that he was.
With nomination day now out of the way, it is expected that candidates will go into campaign mode.
