With the statutory period for Local Government Elections approaching, there remains no indication of when Guyanese will return to the polls, as Local Government Minister Priya Manickchand declined to comment while the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) said it is unable to provide information in the absence of a functioning Elections Commission.
Under Section 35 of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act, Chapter 28:03, local government elections are to be held once every three years during the statutory period prescribed by the Act. However, the specific date is appointed by the Minister through an Order.
“Commenting on whether local government elections can be held or not is above my pay grade,” Chief Election Officer Vishnu Persaud told Kiskadee Watch on Saturday, adding, “You know more than me because I don’t know that it’s supposed to be called.”
Asked about a possible date for the elections, Manickchand said she had no information to share on it.
GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Yolanda Ward said she was unable to provide such information. “We do not have a functional commission at this point and GECOM is not the agency that is responsible for naming a date for local government elections. We conduct the hosting of the elections, but the Minister of Local Government is responsible for naming a date and I am unable to tell you any possibility,” she said.
Meanwhile, the current law says that the elections must take place on a date between 1 November and 7 December of the third year, counting from the year in which the current council’ s term began.
The last Local Government Elections were held on June 12, 2023, which means that the next elections are due in 2026.
Local Government Elections were last held following several postponements linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, litigation and challenges faced by GECOM. The polls were the first local government elections since 2018 and saw voters elect representatives to 10 municipalities and 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils across the country.
Earlier this year, GECOM said it had begun administrative preparations for the next round of Local Government Elections, although commissioners differed on issues surrounding the electoral timetable and any legislative hurdles that could arise.
Political parties have also been preparing for the polls. In February, the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party announced its intention to contest all 80 Local Authority Areas, despite raising concerns about the composition of the Elections Commission.
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