Government urges higher turnout for upcoming local elections

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan says the government is seeking a higher level of participation at the Local Government Elections (LGE) set for later this year.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan.

The second round of local elections under the Coalition government is expected to be held in November. Minister Bulkan told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that, “one of the major focuses of the ministry, is that there is a higher level of participation in these elections.”

After a more than two-decade hiatus, local democracy was returned in 2016 and Minister Bulkan said the turnout of electors was 43%. “Our public campaign will seek to highlight all of the features of the system and to ensure that at a minimum, the overall turnout to be greater than 50% and at the level of our constituencies that we have a greater turnout than 50% because it is only then we can be reasonably satisfied that a greater number of our citizens understand the importance of local government.”

He said while central government will lend its support, local democracy is the full responsibility of the people. “Our role is to provide support to these councils. We respect their independence and that there is a collaborative approach so that those duly elected councilors in all of the constituencies exercise their authority.”

By: Alexis Rodney.