–some blame poor turnout on lack of proper voter education

MANY persons on the East Coast of Demerara are blaming the low voter turnout there, on Monday, for Local Government Elections (LGEs) on the lack of proper voter education.

The Guyana Chronicle took to the East Coast from as early as 06:00hrs on Monday and headed for Devindra Persaud Arjune’s residence, one of the polling stations at Non Pareil.

There, this newspaper observed the voting process from a vantage point, and from all appearances it was a smooth exercise, whereby voters turned up at intervals to cast their votes and after completing the process they left.

One of the candidates, Carol Roberts, was present to observe the process after voting early. She expressed confidence that she ‘stands a good chance of winning because she did the leg-work’. She opined that GECOM ought to be commended for a job well done, adding, that up to the time of speaking the process could be deemed hassle-free.

Sixty-five-year-old Monis Allen, who lost a leg to diabetes and is now confined to a wheelchair, said she came out early to vote because she wants to see change in the village; changes such as better roads and better drainage.
She was accompanied by some of her grandchildren,and said she had no complaints as she was able to cast her vote with relative ease.

It was around 06:45hrs when the Guyana Chronicle caught up with Elvis Hernandez at the polling station at Lilawattee Jaipersaud’s residence at Park Street, Enterprise. He’d already voted, and said he was pleased with how the process went, since he’d managed to get it over with before going to work.

One party official who asked not to be named, told the Guyana Chronicle that the only issue he’d had so far, was that he had been told that only one of the two polling stations at Enterprise was visible,only to learn that that was not so.

NORTHBROOK NURSERY
At the Northbrook Nursery School at Victoria, Pamela Andrews, 65, had voted before 07:00hrs and was on her way home. She was hoping that she could get her elderly husband, who is bedridden, to come out and vote too, but was not quite sure if that was possible.

Andrews said that although she suffers from severe pain in her legs, she could not afford to miss the chance to exercise her right to vote for the betterment of her community.

Independent candidate, Rawle Nelson, had already cast his vote and there as an observer for the Advocate for Real Transformation.
He voiced his concern that many persons were not sure about the voting process,since some were voting for the very first time and did not know that they had to “vote top as well as bottom”. However, the photos of the various candidates were of great help, he added.

Nelson said there is need for more voter education, as most people have obviously lost interest in LGEs. But, like Carol Roberts at Non Pariel, he, too, is optimistic that he stands a good chance of winning.

Further up at Gibson Primary School at Lancaster-Unity, it was already 08:24hrs but just a few voters were trickling in, while at Hardeo’s Mall on Market Road, in Belmonte-Mahaica, the only poeple to be seen for the better part of the morning were GECOM staffers.
Store owner Latchmin Kumardat, 56, said she voted early because she wanted to get that out of the way, so she could start her business. She voted at De Hoop Primary at Branch Road, Mahaica.

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, who is A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) campaign manager for the East Coast corridor, visited many of the polling station along the way to get a first-hand look at the process.

A NEGATIVE IMPACT
He told the Guyana Chronicle while at Tipperary Hall, Buxton where he had a talk with GECOM staffers, that from what he’s learnt, not very many voters turned out to vote, which shows the negative impact going 21 years without LGEs has had on the country.

“We have to now rebuild,” he said, adding: “In accordance with President David Granger’s will, LGE was brought back to empower the people.”

He said that even though it was virtually impossible for him to visit all the polling stations along the Coast, he can only hope that the return of LGEs can help empower communities.

Noting that local government is what is called a third tier of government, the attorney-general said this type of governance helps give folks an idea of what improvements they need in their villages.

“In 2016,” he said, “they came on the heels of general elections. This year, the LGE doesn’t have the same type of energy for votes; this is 80 separate Local Authority Areas (LAA) and people have been starved of LGEs for 21 years…”

The Guyana Chronicle also caught up with Leon Joe, who is a candidate at Haslington and he said he is contesting for his village, and that his chances at winning are very good.

Said he: “If I win, I want to develop my village. And since I am a proactive person, that will not be a difficult task for me.”