Bill to delay local govt elections passed

As the National Assembly approved a bill to delay local government elections for another year, Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall has said that the administration remains committed to the timely holding of those elections after the necessary electoral reform. These elections were constitutionally due this year.

The Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill, which was first introduced on November 19, amended the principal act by substituting “13 years” with “14 years” after the last election” as the date by which local government polls should be held. This now makes it constitutional to hold elections on or before December 1, 2011, and applies only to the upcoming elections.

“We are coming on to (the time of holding) general and regional elections next year, and that is another reason we have to postpone these elections for another time,” Lall told the house. “I think the entire house would like to see these elections held, and would like to see these elections held as soon as possible,”

The minister sought to enlighten the National Assembly on the challenges the delay in elections  have wrought over the years, including the creation of interim management committees to manage neighbourhood democratic councils (NDCs) and even town councils, as has been the case with Linden.

“I can tell you firsthand that it is very difficult to keep the system going,” Lall confessed. “There is a definite need for renewal at the level of the various communities across the country. 

Lall, however, believes that there has been some progress in recent years with the passage of several pieces of legislation, which were assented to by President Bharrat Jagdeo as part of an ongoing process of constitutional electoral reform.

Lall alluded to an ‘extra-parliamentary forum’ where these issues are discussed, and where the opposition has expressed concerns on the bills that were previously passed. The local government minister is concerned that opposition political parties are “engrossed” in other issues of national importance, which may have contributed to the delay in them putting these concerns in writing.

“If, in fact, we are going to have national and regional elections, we have some time within which we can deliberate on those matters, including the concerns that the opposition has, and try as much as possible for us to have the next local government elections under reform legislation.”         

However, David Patterson, of the Alliance For Change, said neither he nor the AFC are aware of such a forum. Patterson opined that the government is not serious about holding local government elections in a timely manner. Likewise, other opposition parliamentarians are not optimistic that the local government polls would be held in 2011.

Patterson did, however, make it clear that the AFC would participate in any process that seeks to have constitutional holding of local government elections.

People’s National Congress Reform parliamentarian Basil Williams scoffed at the repeated delay in the holding of local polls. He quoted the speaker of the National Assembly who, in 2008, had suggested that the debates on the matter in previous years be pulled up and used again.

Williams told the house that, in the past, it was acceptable for local government elections to be postponed to implement constitutional reform and produce a clean voters list prior to the holding of the elections. However, both constitutional reform and production of a clean voters’ list have already been done, and there is no real reason for continued delay in holding of the polls.

Like Patterson, he believes that there is a deliberate attempt to delay the process. Williams also believes that the country is no closer to staging those elections if they must be held after constitutional reform, since there are still three pieces of legislation outstanding — Fiscal Transfers Bill, the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, and the Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill.    

But, in response, Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali said he finds it odd that the PNCR could now blame the government for the delay when that party has been responsible for placing “stumbling blocks” in the administration’s path. He explained that once local government and national elections fall in the same year, it is only natural that the latter takes precedence.          

Meanwhile, Everall Franklyn of GAP/ROAR declined to speak on the matter.