Local government election date to be announced Friday

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 November 2015, 16:35 by GxMedia

Guyanese will Friday know when next year they will be going to the polls to elect local government officials for several towns and village councils.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan is expected to announce the date at a news conference Friday morning.

His impending announcement came little more than one month after the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) announced that the polls could be held no earlier than Monday 14-March-2016 and no later than 29-May-2016.

The coalition government had promised to hold Local Government Elections by December, 2015 but GECOM needed sufficient time to make preparations such as allowing for legal amendments, refining the voters list, identifying candidates, procuring materials and printing ballots.

The polls would not be held countrywide, unlike general elections, but in nine towns and 62 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. For the first time, councilors would be elected for three new towns- Bartica, Mahdia and Lethem.

The already established towns are Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Corriverton and Anna Regina.

GECOM is currently carrying out Claims and Objections to allow for the names of deceased persons to be removed from the voters’ lists and for transfers to be made.