No National Holiday for Local Govt Elections; schools to close early for Easter

Last Updated on Wednesday, 9 March 2016, 13:57 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government has ruled out declaring Friday March 18, 2016  a National Holiday to allow Guyanese to vote in Local Government Elections.

That position was made known by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. “There is no indication that this will be declared a National Holiday. Traditionally, local government elections are not treated the same as national elections so we do not see the need for a National Holiday,” he said.

Trotman n added that “in our assessment there is no need for a national holiday.”

Already, the Ministry of Education has announced that all schools would be closed for the Easter Holiday on Thursday, March 17, 2016.

“The early closure of schools is due to the holding of Local Government Elections on March 18, 2016,” the Ministry of Education said in a statement. Schools will reopen on Monday, April 4, 2016.

Many schools across Guyana are used as polling stations.

The casting of  ballots on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 by police, military and prison services was, according to the Minister of Natural Resources, “ a litmus test as to what we can expect to happen.”