Local Govt Min declares that Constituency boundaries adjusted for LGE 2023

The boundaries of constituencies for Local Government Elections (LGE) have been reverted to what they were in 2016, following extensive consultations with communities, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), government officials and regional stakeholders,

Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall, made the disclosure on Friday in a press briefing at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

It was pointed out that a number of these constituency boundaries had previously been altered by the APNU+AFC Coalition government in 2018. “Some of the constituencies, their boundaries in some cases were collapsed, in other cases merged, just so that supporters of the PPP/C could not have won those constituencies in 2018. We have decided that we will reverse those decisions the last administration made, and we will now revert to the 2016 boundaries, meaning that there will be greater representation on the ground,”  Dharamlall explained.

As a result, a number of adjustments have been made; in Region One, the boundaries of the Mabaruma township have been extended to include Wauna, which was excluded under the APNU+AFC administration.

Further, in Region Two, in the Lower Pomeroon area, the Kitty-Providence and Moruca-Phoenix NDCs will be merged into one due to the small population sizes. This change is expected to serve better for administrative purposes, capacity development, and physical development.

In Region Three, many NDCs are having their boundaries reverted to what obtained in 2016, after the 2018 changes brought on by the APNU+AFC caused victimisation and a lack of representation.

An extension has also been done for Toevlugt to Patentia, all the way to Free-and-Easy, in order to capture hundreds of residents beyond Patentia who were not within an administrative area. The current one will now be called the Toevlugt-Patentia NDC.

Region Four will see boundaries reverted to their 2016 states as well.

In Region Five, Woodlands Farm has been extended to include areas along the De Hoop access road, which were not part of an administrative area.

“So, beyond Number 10 Mahaica, Little Baiboo and Big Baiboo, those areas where people actually live, they will now be part of the NDC area, and likewise, we will revert to the 2016 boundaries, as compared to what was obtained in 2018,” the minister said.

In Region Six, the Number 52-74 NDC has been split into two NDCs; the first of which will encompass Number 52 to 63, and the second of which will cover Number 64 to 74. The split is expected to foster better management and support, and greater representation for residents of those areas.

Areas such as Mahdia in Region Eight, Lethem and Aranaputa in Region Nine and Kwakwani and Linden in Region Ten, will remain the same, as well as Georgetown. “So, there were 14 areas that were affected in 2018, and we have decided that for better representation, those areas go back to the 2016 boundaries. So, we believe that at the end of the Local Government Elections on March 13, there is going to be a better representation of people, more activism on behalf of residents within these areas, and our government will happily work with all 70 NDC areas, as well as the 10 municipal areas across our country,” Dharamlall stressed.

The minister also announced that the number of councillors within the 80 local authority areas will be adjusted according to these changes. These include the 70 NDCs and 10 municipalities.“So, in 2018, we had 1,192 councillors across the country in 596 constituencies, and for the 2023 Local Government Elections, we will have 1,220 councillors in 610 constituencies across the country,” he said.