Dear Editor,
The Guyana National Youth Council remains committed to Guyanese youth and their participation in local and national democracy, as well as local and national development. In 2013, the young people expressed their need for having a national youth body advancing their interests collectively, and working in collaboration with unattached youth, and youth groups already doing the work. GNYC’s role has always been to connect the work of all youth and youth groups and to advance that work as a collective working closely with stakeholders including policymakers and development partners.
The legacy of the GNYC, in its five years, reflects nation-wide efforts like the #VoteLikeABoss campaign for general and local elections in 2015 and 2016, respectively, as well as the USAID-funded Youth and Citizens Participation Programme (YCP) Phase II implemented in Mabaruma, Region One; Hopetown and Bushlot, Region Five; and Alexander Village and West Ruimveldt, Region 4. The organisation further joined our partners in the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) to present a position paper on the situation of youth in Guyana at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington DC in 2017. Throughout its work, GNYC has provided direct employment and volunteer opportunities for youth involved in our work
In an effort to advance our own internal democracy, the GNYC opted to host its first executive election on November 24, 2018 which would have seen a transition from the current governance structure of a Steering Committee to one of a full executive committee. This effort was led by Interim Chairman, Derwayne Wills along with three hard-working assisting committees focused on general administration, planning, and constitutional matters, respectively. Based on the participation in the November 24 election, GNYC will be extending the voting process and utilizing a mixed methods voting system which would allow a counting of the ballots cast on November 24, 2018 and a further engagement of those other GNYC delegates who have not yet been able to cast their vote.
As of November 24, 2018, the overall membership of GNYC is 346 with 320 being eligible to vote and contest based on the deadlines for registration during the registration cycle (August 19, 2018 to October 31, 2018). GNYC’s election was supervised by Returning Officer, Ms. Kimberly Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert is a director with the Caribbean Regional Youth Council and also a member of the Trinidad Youth Council. The election observers comprised of representatives of the University of Guyana Student Society, University of Guyana Law Society, and Youth Advocacy Movement of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association.
A number of positions have gone uncontested based on the absence of the nominee on the day of the election preliminary, withdrawal of candidacy, the nominee’s inability to present themselves to the General Assembly on the day of the preliminary election, or member’s inability to register within the specified time so as to form part of the list of electors and ultimately have the power to vote as well as contest for any position. Those uncontested positions within GNYC include the Secretary, Chairperson for Resource Mobilisation, Chairperson for Sports Development, and Chairperson for Monitoring and Evaluation. Those uncontested positions are slated to be opened for nominations after consultation between GNYC’s Steering Committee and the Returning Officer.
So far, the positions that have been successfully contested within the Executive Committee are President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Chairperson for Policy and Advocacy, and Chairperson for Inclusion and Regional Participation. Voting for these positions will remain opened as our members will continue to be engaged.
It is evident from this election preliminary that the voting process in itself, by virtue of the magnitude of GNYC, must take on a more dynamic, extended interface or rather must happen as an extended voting process instead of a one-off activity with a narrow voting window. GNYC will consult with our partners in the Caribbean and the Commonwealth on how to effectively conduct an electronic vote (E-Vote) in a manner that is transparent. GNYC has already been informed that such a platform is being tested by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Even with the E-Voting system, GNYC delegates not in attendance on November 24 will have the option to view the pitches made by the candidates as well as the questions and answers segment as all of this was recorded and will become available soon.
GNYC takes note of the low voter turnout for local government elections and reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that despite voter education campaigns which focus on how to vote, civil society groups like GNYC play a vital role in raising enthusiasm in voters, especially youth voters, about getting involved by equipping both youth and their leaders with the tools they need to work collaboratively. But first, we must continue our own work in re-building confidence in our institution.
The results of GNYC’s November 24 preliminaries are as follows:
President:
– Dr. Quacy Grant (25 votes)
– Dr. Kwasi Sinclair (4 votes)
Vice-President:
– Delecia George (21 votes)
– Dr. Quacy Grant (2 votes)
– Dr. Kwasi Sinclair (6 votes)
Treasurer:
– Gyarth Taylor (8 votes)
– Samara Rambarran (6 votes)
– Rondel Nedd (15 votes)
Chairperson for Policy and Advocacy:
– Dennis Glasgow (25 confidence votes; 4 no confidence votes)
Chairperson of Inclusion and Regional
Participation:
– Dr. Shonette Waterman (13 votes)
– Brian Smith (3 votes)
– Delon Sancho (13 votes)
These preliminary results do not indicate a winner as voting for these positions are still open. 291 GNYC delegates are still to cast their ballot.
Yours faithfully,
Derwayne Wills
Interim Chairman
Guyana National Youth Council
