PPP/C wins 65% of PR seats at local gov’t polls
-sees gains in municipalities, NDCs
Following last Monday’s local government elections, the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) now controls more Local Authority Areas (LAAs) and it picked up over twice the number of Proportional Representation (PR) seats as its main competitor A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), according to preliminary results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Friday.
Unlike in 2016, GECOM has not released the number of votes cast in each LAA but an analysis of the number of seats earned under the PR component of the election shows that the PPP/C won more than twice the number of seats as the APNU.
The elections were held under a hybrid system First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) and PR system, with each voter allowed to vote twice: once under the FPTP component and once under the PR component. Each system accounts for 50% of the seats available in each local government area. Of the 596 PR seats available countrywide, the PPP/C won 386 or 64.76% compared to the 188 or 31.5% won by APNU. The Alliance For Change (AFC) managed to win 14 seats, while four different Voluntary Groups won a combined total of eight PR seats.
In 2016, the PPP/C won outright control of three of the then nine municipalities—Anna Regina, Corriverton and Rose Hall, while the APNU+AFC coalition won in five, including Georgetown, the traditional stronghold of its main constituent, the PNCR. In the then new municipality of Mabaruma both parties gained six seats on the twelve seat council.
This year, the opposition has been able to increase its position on each municipal council, earning outright control of Mabaruma, Anna Regina, Rose Hall, Corriverton and Lethem.
According to the data provided by GECOM, the party, which had managed a mere three of ten seats in Lethem, has been able to double its share, earning six seats and control of the new council. In Mabaruma, the party has been awarded eight seats, a gain of two, pending an investigation into allegations of fraud.
GECOM is currently investigation allegations that applications for proxy voters in Mabaruma were approved based on fraudulent documents and without requisite checks. Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield has explained that GECOM hopes to conclude the investigation before the next meeting of the commission on Wednesday so that official results can be declared.
Meanwhile, in Anna Regina, Corriverton and Rose Hall, where President David Granger had made calls for voters to elect leaders with a vision to transform their areas, the PPP/C was able to maintain and increase its control. In Anna Regina, it won 14 seats in 2016 and 15 seats in 2018. In Rose Hall, it now has ten seats, a gain of one, and it has held on to all 14 of the seats it previously won in Corriverton. The APNU has managed one, four and two seats, respectively in these municipalities, while the AFC won none.
The data also shows that the PPP/C has been able to gain ground in all the municipalities controlled by APNU. The most ground has been gained in Georgetown, where the party moved from two seats after the 2016 elections to seven seats in 2018. In Linden, where it won no seats in 2016, it has won one seat in 2018; in Bartica it now has four seats, which is two more than it gained in 2016; and in New Amsterdam, it now has three seats, after winning only two in 2016. In the new municipality of Mahdia, the PPP/C earned only one seat.
The AFC, meanwhile, has earned two seats in Georgetown, two in Linden and one each in New Amsterdam, Bartica and Mahdia.
A total of 70 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) were contested at the polls.
The PPP/C has increased the number of NDCs it controls from 43 to 46 and gained control of a traditional PNCR stronghold, Buxton/Foulis, where it has won ten seats to APNU’s eight. APNU won control of 21 NDCs, while there were ties in eight. In one area, there was a tie between APNU and an independent group.