…as residents seek betterment; voter turnout solid

By Alva Solomon in Mabaruma
As the sun rose across the hills outside Mabaruma on Monday morning, Princess Lynk, an 83-year-old vendor, was preparing to make her way to the polling station at Kumaka, the town’s business hub.

Lynk said she was the third person in line to vote at the constituency, which is one of six within the township where the two major political parties had picked up an equal number of seats in the 2016 Local Government Elections (LGE) polls.

The polling station was one of t he busiest of the lot within the town, although a large number of voters were trickling in at the Mabaruma Nursery School in the center of the town. There, the government enjoys more support and reports are that the numbers this year are similar to those in terms of voter turnout at that polling station.

Over at Hosororo Hill, residents were seen milling around the polling station at the primary school as early as 05:50hrs. One resident, who voted along with his wife and daughter, told the Guyana Chronicle that he had to go to work and as such he woke his family early on Monday morning. “It’s better to just come and get it out the way,” he said.

Within the first hour of voting, close to 50 persons voted based on a tally recorded by this newspaper and the numbers increased within the next hour.

As the morning progressed however, the groups of voters, mainly families, decreased.
A few members of the public expressed dissatisfaction that a group of persons associated with the opposition had erected a small booth within 200 yards of the polling station. There, the group was gathering supporters and recording names as early as 06:00hrs.

Over at the Koberimo Hill, residents of the small community voted early and reports are that like the other polling stations, there were no hiccups. Koberimo resident, Nadira Lackna, told the Guyana Chronicle that this was the first time she voted at the LGEs. She said that she waited until the line grew short before she decided to visit the polling station. “I went around 8 o’clock. It hadn’t a line when I went out ,” she said.

Lackna said that everyone in the area was encouraged to go out and vote and she was not making herself an exception since, ”we have a lot of things to get done at Koberimo and I hope things happen for the betterment of the community.”

Businesswoman Joy Dodson told the Guyana Chronicle, at Kumaka, that she decided to participate as a candidate for the APNU at this year’s elections. Dodson said she made the decision in the interest of the people of Kumaka where she resides and operates a business. “I need to work for my people and we have to get closer to the people and listen to them. So I am working for them,” she said.

This year, a number of persons told the Guyana Chronicle that there appears to be more encouragement from the main political parties for persons to vote at Mabaruma. “I think the competition is there . You seeing it even though 2020 is awhile from now,” Lorna Shepherd told the Guyana Chronicle. She said she has been ignoring the politicking which has been ongoing in recent weeks prior to the polls. She said that she will only raise her awareness to the what’s going on, on Tuesday, the day after the elections.

Another senior citizen, Olga Thompson, related that this was the first time she voted at LGEs. The elections were only held in 2016 after a 21 year hiatus under the previous administration. Thompson, who lives at Hubu Hill on the periphery of Mabaruma, said that since the last elections, several projects were undertaken in the town by the town’s council.

She noted that there are still a few more which are left to be undertaken and like most residents, she was optimistic that regardless of who is elected to serve on the town council, he/she must serve in the interest of the development of Mabaruma.