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Slow response to LGE at West Demerara Polling Stations
The long overdue Local Government Elections which got underway countrywide, yesterday, was not met with enthusiasm. Like most parts of the country, the response of voters in several sections of the West Demerara was
The response to the LGE at Crane Primary School, West Coast Demerara yesterday.
described as slow and minimal.
Residents at Crane, Vreed-en-Hoop, Goed Fortuin and a few other areas along the West Demerara visited the Polling Stations “individually and in some cases, by the pairs.”
Many commented that they did not know the candidates listed to represent their constituencies but were only there to cast their ballots in favour of the party of their choice. At Crane, West Coast Demerara the residents expressed their reluctance to vote in the first Local Government Elections held since 1994.
One first time voter said that she only came out to vote at the insistence of her parents.
“If it wasn’t for them I would have stayed home because how I see it in this election people don’t even know who to vote for. We really don’t know these candidates.”
However older voters appeared glad to cast their ballots. Rookim Dey, 74, of New Road, Vreed en Hoop noted that she is happy to be able to elect people of her choice to look over the affairs of her neighbourhood.
“So in case anything happens we know who to blame,” the elderly woman noted while commenting on the low turnout by the electorate across the country.
Dey said that she believes that more could have been done by the LGE candidates to become familiar with the residents of the constituencies they are seeking to represent. “I think if they (the candidates) had gone around more and met with the people; the young boys playing cricket in the streets, the young women at the hair salon and so on, people would have had a better understanding of who they are and what they had to offer.
“Then, voters would approach the polling station with a better understanding of what and who they are electing.
Another voter said that he believes that the low turnout by the electorate is due to frustration. People are frustrated with the government and the opposition. “The PPP/C committed serious crimes against this nation while in office and the APNU/AFC appears to want to finish the job…
“The government has to do better than this if they want the faith of the people restored in them. If they want support they must deliver on their promises,” the man asserted.
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