By Alva Solomon

VOTERS trickled into the polling stations during the day yesterday at communities which fall within the Mabaruma municipality for this year’s Local Government Elections (LGEs).The electorate comprised mainly the older residents of Thomas Hill, Mabaruma Settlement, Mabaruma Township, Kumaka, Koberimo Hill, Hosororo Hill, Wanaina Hill and Smith’s Creek.
When the polling stations opened at those communities, persons were already lined up at the doors of the more populated ones, such as Mabaruma and Hosororo Hill.
Agents of the two main political parties, the ruling A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) told this newspaper that to the best of their knowledge, voting was without incident.

According to the coalition’s Juliet Baird, the electorate at Mabaruma was out in their numbers after 07:00hrs, when work had started in the region’s administrative capital.
She said they were able to vote without encountering any issues or concerns. One taxi driver even told this newspaper that he was still undecided as to who to vote for, as he had not yet made up his mind.
There are no independent groups or individuals contesting the elections in the sub-region.

QUIET AT KUMAKA
At Kumaka, the hub of the sub-region, the mood was quiet for the better part of the day, until the afternoon hours, when those who had left work early, as well as the curious, stopped by on their way home.
Things were relatively quiet also at the polling station at the National Agricultural and Research Extension Institute (NAREI) at Kumaka, when this newspaper dropped by around mid-morning yesterday, and again later in the afternoon.
At midday, agents for both contesting parties reported that, based on their records, close to 90 ballots had been cast at the polling station there.

LARGE TURNOUT
Voting at the Hosororo Hill Primary School saw a large turnout during the day, with persons coming out in either groups or as families.
One elderly resident, Mercedes James, of Wanaina Hill, voted at the Hosororo Primary School, since her community falls under that constituency. She said that she’d left home since “day-clean” yesterday, but because of other pressing matters, could not have voted earlier. She was, however, happy to have gotten that out of the way.
“Me vote, and I feel satisfied. I hoping for the best,” she told this newspaper as she displayed her inked index finger.
Another resident said it was a first for her at LGE, and while she did not fully understand the process, she voted with an open mind, nevertheless, since the elections are about developing one’s community.

PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD
Over at Mabaruma, a mother and daughter told this newspaper that the process was pretty straightforward, and as they left the polling station, two elderly women were seen arriving to cast their votes too.
Both were helped down a small slope as they entered the compound of the polling station.

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Colin Croal was in the region to assist his party’s agents, while the representatives of the APNU+AFC either sat or stood around the polling stations as the day progressed.
The elderly were provided with transportation to and from their homes to vote, as ranks from the Mabaruma Police Station provided security at the polling stations.
Among those persons who contested the elections for the coalition in Mabaruma on the Proportional Representation (PR) list were Joyce Adams, Stephen Ashby, Juliet Baird, Francine Bennet, Susan Boyer, Ron Campbell, Godfrey Chan-A-Sue, Henry Smith, Keisha Fraser, Astrille Gamell and Patrick O’Selmo.
Those for the opposition included Victor Boyer, Nichol Birchman, Sia Liverpool, Dwayne Payne, Mark Persaud, Dellon Williams, Cynthia Singh and Charles Richards.
For the First-Past-The-Post list, Mark John, Lorenzo Daniels ,Cleveland December , Roxanne Skeete , Victor Oselmo and Nigel Peters contested for the APNU+AFC.
On the other hand, Leslie Robinson, Leonard Daniels , Fermin Singh ,Vibert Emanuel , and Victor Boyer contested for the PPP.
Candidates for both parties were confident of their party’s performance at yesterday’s elections.