The four key western missions in Guyana yesterday called for the holding of local government elections, saying that there is no valid justification for further delay, which they said is responsible for a persistent drag on Guyana’s national development.
“Given the important and pressing need for effective local governance, we believe that 2013 should be a watershed moment for the people of Guyana — the year they can once again democratically elect their local government,” said the statement signed by US ambassador D. Brent Hardt, European Union ambassador Robert Kopecky, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom Andrew Ayre, and High Commissioner of Canada David Devine.
The joint statement, a mechanism used sparingly by the Western missions and only for critical issues, will be seen as particularly targeted at the government which has been in office unbroken since 1992 with local government elections having being held only once – in 1994. The government has blamed a number of factors for the non-holding of local government elections but critics have argued that it has been in charge of the process and it was always within its ability to hold the elections.
They point to a particularly frustrating period under former Local Government Minister Clinton Collymore where the reform process was stalemated and eventually abandoned.
“While Guyana has made great strides in strengthening its democracy, the continued absence of democratically elected and effective local government remains a
