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FM
Former Member

U.S Government welcomes announcement of Local Government Elections

Responding to this declaration, U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

 

U.S Government welcomes announcement of Local Government Elections

 

The United States Embassy in Georgetown has welcomed the announcement of a date for Local Government Elections by the APNU+AFC government.

 

The last time local government elections

took place in Guyana was in 1994.

 

On Friday, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan announced March 18, 2016 as ‘E’ Day for Local Government polls.

 

Responding to this declaration, U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind-boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

 

“I know you do have a democracy. I’m not denying that but I couldn’t fit into my big head why there have been no local elections, so I was very pleased to see that announcement today,” the Ambassador added.

 

Mr. Holloway was speaking at a welcome reception at his residence, having recently arrived in Guyana.

 

He said the U.S stands ready to assist Guyana with these elections and also to develop its other resources and potential.

 

timthumb

 

 

The U.S Embassy had always lobbied the previous government to hold local elections and has supported the current coalition government in its push to have these elections take place.

 

The APNU+AFC government was elected to office in May, 2015, ending the People’s Progressive Party’s 23 year rule.

 

The coalition government in conjunction with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) immediately began plans for the hosting of the local elections including the passage and subsequent assent to new and amended legislation.

 

“This is an important time in our history; your government has recently declared that Guyanese will have the opportunity to democratically elect Councillors to manage towns and neighbourhoods. Elections are important because they are a democratic constitutional right,” Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan said, when he announced the elections.

 

According to the Minister, these elections are essential because the entire local government system is currently rotten and must be rehabilitated and made fully functional. He said “democratic renewal of local government organs is long overdue”.

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U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

damning . . . very very damning!

 

the Freedom House bandits who love to scream "1992" have no bloody shame

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Jagdeo & Ramotar Democracy....

states anyone who born after 1973

could not vote in Local Government Elections.

 

Under Jagdeo & Ramotar Democracy.....

Local Government Voting Age was 42 Years.

 

Under Moses & Granger Democracy....

Local Government Voting Age is 18 Years.

FM
Originally Posted by redux:
U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

damning . . . very very damning!

 

the Freedom House bandits who love to scream "1992" have no bloody shame

like you rass forget the 28 years when we had elections, but the same us said they were rigged....how damning was that knucklehead?...your cockeyed view cant seem to allow you to overcome your bias, eh?

V
Originally Posted by VishMahabir:
Originally Posted by redux:
U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

damning . . . very very damning!

 

the Freedom House bandits who love to scream "1992" have no bloody shame

like you rass forget the 28 years when we had elections, but the same us said they were rigged....how damning was that knucklehead?...your cockeyed view cant seem to allow you to overcome your bias, eh?

And at least the national elections were not rigged...why you people cant seem to display a balanced view, even to pretend to be so, is beyond me.

V
Originally Posted by VishMahabir:
Originally Posted by redux:
U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, said “Guyanese under the age of 42 have never voted in local elections. To me it was mind boggling how can you have a democracy without local elections?”

damning . . . very very damning!

 

the Freedom House bandits who love to scream "1992" have no bloody shame

like you rass forget the 28 years when we had elections, but the same us said they were rigged....how damning was that knucklehead?...your cockeyed view cant seem to allow you to overcome your bias, eh?

the Americans gifted Guyana with free & fair elections in 1992, leading to the defeat of PNC dictatorship, ushering in the Presidency of Cheddi Jagan who promptly held LGE in 1994

 

the successor PPP narco-government promptly embalmed democratic governance after Dr Jagan died in 1997

 

braying jackass, u and the other jagdeoite scum 'refute' me how again?

FM

I don't see what the big deal is anyway. The way Jalil is carrying on you would think that the PPP were occupying the the local govt office, hence their motive for not holding the elections. Let us not forget that the PNC operatives, Green and others are the beneficiaries of the PPP's failure to hold elections in so many years as they squat in office and ruin the nation with poor management.   

FM
Originally Posted by BGurd_See:

I don't see what the big deal is anyway. The way Jalil is carrying on you would think that the PPP were occupying the the local govt office, hence their motive for not holding the elections.

Let us not forget

that the PNC operatives,

Green and others are

the beneficiaries of the

PPP's failure to hold elections

in so many years

as they squat in office and ruin the nation with poor management.   

Bhai look how you

always trying fuh mek

a Godey look like a lil thing.....

 

READ & UNDERSTAND....

The polls, which will be held in the

nine towns and

62 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs),

have not been held since 1994,

although the constitution stipulates

that they are to be held every three years.

 

PPP been carrying a Big Godey

by refusing to hold elections in 21 years.

 

 

PPP local Government Godey

was not limited to Only Georgetown(Hamilton Green)

 

But to Eight other Towns(Total Nine Towns)

many of these towns are controlled by PPP for 21 Years

 

PPP CANCELLED ELECTIONS

SEVEN TERMS -SHAME.

 

The Law call for

a Fresh Election

to be held every three years.

 

Isnt that a Big PPP Godey?

 

 

 

The PPP local Government Godey is much Bigger

 

No Elections for 62 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs),

many of these NDC are controlled by PPP for 21 Years

 

PPP CANCELLED NDC ELECTIONS

FOR SEVEN TERMS -SHAME.

 

The Law call for

a Fresh NDC Election

to be held every three years.

 

Isnt that a Bigger

Hydro-Supersize PPP Godey?

 

Walla-

wha yuh mean by

"Dis is no Big Thing"

 

Yuh don't know wha yuh been

Draging around all these years?

 

FM

Anil's response to why no govt elections, he blamed it on mo fiah slow fiah and other delay tactics employed by the then PNC now morphed into the afc/apnu. We all know that Georgetown, New Amsterdam and Linden are the big prizes for LGE despite the ramblings of Jalil, all afc/apnu controlled. Below are the afc/apnu operative who mainly benefited from the delay in LGE.

 

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The move by the main political party, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to distance itself from the ‘historical evolution’ surrounding the highly debated local government election issue is ‘simply wrong and dishonest’.

This is the contention of Attorney General, and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.

In an interview with the Government Information Agency, Minister Nandlall said since the last local government election which was held in 1994, the main opposition party has been actively involved in legally postponing the holding the election.

“The only year that the PNC (APNU) stood by itself and demanded local government elections was 2014, and in so doing they are attempting to distance themselves from the historical evolution of this matter and the opposition is still contributing to the non-holding of local government elections.”

According to Minister Nandlall, the difficulty with which the government is currently confronted is the fact that there is pending in the National Assembly, a No-Confidence motion for debate.

That motion, if it is taken to its logical conclusion, will mean that by virtue of the constitution, Parliament will be dissolved, forcing the President and the Cabinet to resign, and elections to be held within three months after the dissolution of Parliament.

With this constitutional formulation, the holding of local government election will be highly improbable, according to the Attorney General.

“These elections, as well as national elections are to be administered by the same agency, that is the Guyana Elections Commission, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the Guyana Election Commission is simply incapable of administering these two elections either contemporaneously, simultaneously or within short periods of each other.”

Opposition Leader David Granger during his recent protest for Local Government Elections.

Opposition Leader David Granger during his recent protest for Local Government Elections.

Hence, he pointed out that the government therefore has to be sure which one of the elections is likely to take place and then prepare for that one, simply because Guyana does not have the capabilities to facilitate both elections at the same time.

Speaking to the issue as to why local government election has not been held since 1994, the Attorney General chronicled a series of events, all of which the main opposition has actively participated in to postpone the holding of the election.

“Under the law, local government elections are required to be held once every three years, so 1994 the last one was held, and the next one was supposed to have been held in 1997, now let us go back to 1997 and examine the situation there.”

The Attorney General recalled that in 1997, the then government of the day went to General Elections and for the same reason, local government and general elections could not have been facilitated in the same year, the decision was made to hold general elections with the PPP/C presidential Candidate being the late Janet Jagan.

That election was followed by massive social unrest, riots, violence, street protest, and arson, which resulted in a team from CARICOM making interventions.

The team sat with the then PNC which was led by Mr. Desmond Hoyte, and the Government where they brokered an arrangement that is now popularly referred to as the Herdmanston Accord.

Two important decisions were made in that accord, the first being that the government would go back to general elections within three years, thereby giving up two years of government, and the second one being those elections would be held under a reformed constitution.

“Those are the two important decisions coming out of that accord, local government elections, obviously was not a factor in the equation and both the PNC and the government recognised that and it was decided by the two parties that we will have local government election after the constitutional reform.”

This was done, since the constitutional reform process would have reformed the local government structure, as well and new elections were going to be held under that reformed structure.

“When we came out of 2001 election, again there was violence, unrest, burning in the streets, nevertheless a task force was assembled by the PNC and PPP comprising senior functionaries of both political parties, and they began to work out a modality of how the local government structure would be done legally.”

While the constitution provided for the establishment of a local government commission, it did not provide for the way that the commission will function, the powers that the commission will have, the way the commission will staff itself, all of which were supposed to be the subject of ordinary legislation.

 

 

FM

The only Local elections Jags had was when he was very local with Kwame.

 

Also he was very local with the REAR ADMIRAL who is now Granja advisor.

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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