– pact reached after Jagdeo, Corbin meet
Two months after the announcement of a “last ditch” attempt to complete local government reform, the government and the main opposition have said that the parliamentary select committee responsible for the work is “likely” to resume meeting.
Following a meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Robert Corbin, PNCR Executive Allan Munroe said on Friday that the efforts to the complete reform of the local government system are likely to be revived following the meeting. He explained that it was agreed at the meeting that work should be resumed at the parliamentary level. “It is expected that the parliamentary select committee would resume its work shortly,” Munroe reported, adding that Corbin had emphasised that there needed to be resolve on the part of the PPP/C to fully implement the recommendations of the Local Government Reform Task Force or the exercise would be futile.
Jagdeo and Corbin held talks on local government elections, among other issues at Office of the President on Tuesday. In a statement, OP said both Jagdeo and Corbin had agreed that the issue would be resolved at the parliamentary select committee level and that the committee should resume meeting.
AFC leader Raphael Trotman told Stabroek News that despite urgings of his party, no attempt was made to reconvene the parliamentary committee in the two-month period between Jagdeo’s announcement and last Tuesday’s meeting. Almost two months earlier, Jagdeo had said that a final attempt would be made to conclude the reform, before the holding of the long-delayed elections. He said the PPP agreed to the course of action after campaigning by the parliamentary opposition parties for the completion of agreed legislative reforms, as required under the Constitution. “I have discussed this with the People’s Progressive Party and they have very reluctantly agreed that we should make one last ditch attempt to resolve the issues raised by the opposition,” Jagdeo said. Jagdeo did not indicate a timetable for the process, but said the date for the polls would be determined after the outstanding issues are resolved.
“We are increasingly getting a sense that the government did not want to hold the elections in the first place,” Trotman said, while adding that the administration appeared to be more focused on national campaigning recently. He pointed to recent outreach activities by the government to support this conclusion.
Meanwhile, prior to the decision to pursue the completion of the reforms, Guyana Elections Commis-sion (GECOM) Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally had urged the “early” settlement of local government reform, in order to allow preparations for the long-delayed elections to proceed without any impediments. “While we stand resolutely by our deliberate decision to prepare for the conduct of local government elections, we must acknowledge that it is not up to the commission to decide if and when this will be done,” he explained, adding that GECOM is also conscious of its “greater national responsibility” to ensure due compliance with the Constitution. “It is in this regard that we urge that the relevant stakeholders arrive at an early settlement and clear the way for GECOM to proceed with its work without impediment.”
In preparation for the run-off of polls, GECOM earlier this year completed a Claims and Objections to produce a Register of Voters (RV). GECOM has since put its public education campaign on hold as it awaits the completion of the work on the reforms. At the same time, the commission is preparing to launch a new continuous registration exercise in September. A source told Stabroek News that GECOM has received no indication that there would be no local government elections, although it has sought confirmation from the Local Government Minister and the Finance Minister.
President Jagdeo has maintained that general elections must be held next year. Asked if the government would forego the holding of local government elections to ensure the holding of national elections in 2011, he said it was an issue that had to be addressed during the engagement with all the opposition parties. “I’m told that there is some legal issue against holding two elections in the same year, so then it means that we have a narrow window if that is accurate. And then it’s not wise, probably, to do two elections in a single year. So these are issues that have to be discussed,” Jagdeo said
