At a press conference on Saturday morning, Minister Avinash Teeluck justified the government’s decision to postpone the municipal elections. He gave several reasons. Firstly, he said that the government wants to bring about a reform in the Local Government Act. That is why the decision was taken to introduce an amendment to give the President of the Republic the power to extend the mandate of municipal and village councils for another two years.
He said the government will set up a ministerial committee to investigate reforms to the Local Government Act. This committee will take into consideration the views of both urban residents and political parties. The ultimate goal, according to Minister Avinash Teeluck, is to have village councils that are more representative of the democratic aspirations of urban and rural residents.
Avinash Teeluck gave a series of other reasons. First, he said that the current councils are “not working” due to a lack of funds and a lack of financing. He also spoke about municipalisation and the need to empower village and municipal councillors but also to feminize local governments.
