With a dismal 43 percent voter turnout at the last Local Government Elections (LGE) held in 2016, the Government of Guyana (GoG), is urging electorates to come out and let their voices be heard as the constitutional process is set to return later this year.
Minister of Communities, said 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 with the resuscitation of the process.
“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,” Bulkan said.
He said also, that 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 councillors in all of the constituencies exercise their authority.”
The second round of local elections under the Coalition government is expected to be held in November. (Modified from the Department of Public Information)
