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Low turnout at LGE polls
Kaieteur News – Local Government Elections (LGE) 2023 saw a low but incident-free turn out yesterday as scores of citizens exercised their right to vote alongside hundreds of government officials.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and First Lady, Arya Ali were among those voters who cast their ballots at the Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre. During an engagement with the media, President Ali deemed the process to be a smooth one. “It was very efficient,” he added.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali
With respect to the low voter turnout, Ali said this has always been an issue since persons unfortunately do not apply the same level of urgency and seriousness to it as they do with General and Regional Elections. “But as we have said throughout the campaign, these elections are very important for the system of democracy, the renewal of leadership, the development of communities and the synergies between local and central government,” the President said.
He also used the opportunity to denounce certain contentions by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime would increase taxes on city residents should it win most of the seats at the Mayor and City Council.
Ali said, “It is absolute rubbish. This is the type of politics that has kept societies back. Our only plan for Georgetown, and any other area in this country, is to advance development, the welfare of communities and people and importantly to strengthen local leadership. If you look at Georgetown and all the other areas, you see a reflection of Guyana in the candidates contesting.”
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
The Head of State added, “I think it is very disrespectful for one to speak about these young people the way the Opposition Leader does. Many of these people used to be candidates (for the APNU) and if you can lower the value of someone who once served you to the extent they are doing then I find difficulty with that.”
The President said the PPP will continue to stay steadfast in advancing its development programme for the people. After casting his ballot yesterday morning at St Paul’s Primary School, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo also lauded the process as smooth, though there were some minor hiccups. In this regard, he noted receiving reports that some voters were being delayed by Information Clerks before being allowed to cast their vote or in some cases, mislead into going to other polling stations.
“People know where they are voting because they have already checked so they don’t necessarily have to go to the Information Clerks. That was becoming an issue because it was creating bottle necks where you have a long line. They are not required to go to the Information Clerk but this is not a new issue, we have had it occur during election time and sometimes people are misdirected. We had one instance where someone was told that they had to be voting at another location but checks proved this to be false,” the Vice President explained.
As to voter turnout, Jagdeo said this is usually expected to be low. He said this is an issue government has lamented about on the campaign. “We said we are fighting against complacency and not so much against APNU in many areas…the last elections was about 30 percent of the voter population and this was in 2018. Notwithstanding that, we believe we will have a landslide victory in the majority of the areas being contested,” the official said.
Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton
Like President Ali, Jagdeo rubbished claims that the government would increase rates and taxes if it wins Georgetown. He also resisted the temptation of forecasting early on what districts the PPP would win. With respect to Georgetown he said it has been overwhelmingly in support of the APNU over the years but stressed that the party “waged a good battle.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton told members of the press that there were a few hiccups he observed as well such as persons not presenting their identification cards for clear observation. He noted that this issue was raised with scrutineers and later rectified.
He also expressed confidence that the APNU will reclaim Georgetown despite not having the same hard-hitting campaign like the PPP. “…I believe politics is ground work and not flags in the air…I believe we will win Georgetown regardless of the bribery. Barring any illegalities, I don’t even see them having a chance of winning,” the politician said.
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