The President had made what many thought was a solemn promise in his party’s election Manifesto – Working Together for a Better Tomorrow. He wrote: “In the area of local government and governance, the next PPP/C government will ensure, within one year of the 2011 general and regional elections, that local government elections are held, bringing much needed reinvigoration into local government entities.” Nearly three years have passed since those elections in 2011 were held and Ramotar became president. He has failed to keep his promise on local government elections.
The President, speaking as late as September 2014, admitted, “I campaigned and promised people that once we win the next elections, we will have local government elections very, very quickly. That is true, but I did not anticipate that we would have a one-seat minority in the Parliament. That created political uncertainty in the situation and in the body politics of the country.” Electoral arithmetic, party politics and the PPP/C’s control of the National Assembly seem to be more important than the promotion of democracy and compliance with the Constitution.
The President’s procrastination has been exposed by the Chairman of the Elections Commission. Given the passage in the National Assembly of the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill which had
