In last Monday’s editorial we reflected on the negative view of the PPP’s General Secretary Mr Clement Rohee on the readiness of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) for the holding of elections and the latter’s own official silence on whether it could meet the August 1, 2014 deadline for the polls which have not been held since 1994. Gecom’s silence has continued, a clear sign that there is a division among its commissioners on whether the deadline of August 1, 2014 which was set by the opposition majority in Parliament can be met.
It is astounding that Gecom has not even advanced a holding position on its readiness. This has never been more necessary than now considering that the vacuum left by Gecom has been occupied by senior officials of the government and the PPP and this could have the undesirable effect of misleading the populace and eroding confidence in later pronouncements by Gecom.
Last week, it was the turn of the Minister of Local Government, Mr Norman Whittaker. His take on the holding of local government elections would have to be ranked as the most inept and ill-informed and is of the tenor of the sophistry that preceded the 1992 general elections. When asked when he would set about fixing a date for the local government elections since by its own admission the government has said there was nothing legislatively in the way, Minister Whittaker told Stabroek News that the vast majority of the populace was not prepared for the holding of local government polls by August 1st and that to go ahead would result in the waste of a lot of money.
This was already a departure from Mr Rohee’s version about the apparent lack readiness of Gecom. Mr Whittaker is now focused on the readiness of the electorate. Minister Whittaker also went on to say that public education is needed before he could give an order to hold local government elections. He said that if elections were to be held now, only about 30% of the population would respond. The minister says that Guyanese typically do not attach much significance to elections, even at the national level, and he expressed concern that local elections might be treated with even less regard.
Well, it is unclear exactly what type of investigative or research work that Minister Whittaker embarked upon to alight on the figure of 30% and whether that even mattered. Local government elections generally attract much less interest than national elections but at the same time enough people are usually interested to provide a reasonable response. It is more than likely the case that the people of this country will be keen on participating considering that they have been denied these elections under successive PPP/C government since 1994.
If indeed, public education is what Minister Whittaker wishes for the populace what has his government been doing to mobilise or provide such education to the average person who as far as the minister is concerned needs to be educated? The answer? Nothing. As a matter of fact, the government is trying to do the opposite by attempting to stymie the US Leadership and Democracy Project. Where is the local counterpoint to this project? When will it be rolled out? Will the electorate be subject to an examination on their knowledge of local government issues at which point a pass mark of 50% will be required before the elections are held? The possibilities are endless. Wouldn’t it be quite an experience for the 65 members of the National Assembly to be examined on the trove of knowledge they possess?
Instead of removing so many Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and installing handpicked persons to run them, Minister Whittaker and the former Minister of Local Government Mr Ganga Persaud could have been spending their time providing education in those communities about improving local governance and the functioning of the NDCs. What registers very clearly from Minister Whittaker’s remarks and those of General Secretary Rohee and others in the government and party is that the PPP/C is not keen at all on local government elections despite its protestations to the contrary. It would much rather go to a general election which allows it whip up fervours of various sorts and to parade the opposition and PNCR, in particular, as the bane of the Guyanese people. This is no doubt why it was in favour of a timeline of local government elections not later than December 1, 2014 because inevitably there will be slippages, manufactured and otherwise in the timetable, and with Christmas fast approaching a deferral to 2015 would be pushed through.
This is what makes a forthright and clinical assessment from Gecom on what is possible by August 1 absolutely necessary. As we said in last week’s editorial “The public must be provided with a clear statement by Gecom about its readiness for local government elections by August and a timeline for the outstanding tasks to be completed. The electorate will then pass judgment.”
Despite Minister Whittaker’s utterances, the pathway to the elections is clear. He fixes a date and Gecom moves to meet that period, failing which a new date can be appointed. The cavalier approach by the PPP/C to the holding of local government elections is completely antithetical to a major theme of its 64-year-old history i.e. the free and fair expression of democracy at all levels of government. It is unthinkable that efforts will be made to stall local government elections this year. All eyes will now be on Gecom.
