REPORTER Travis Seymour, detailing how voting proceeded in Region 1 (Barima-Waini) on Elections Day said residents in that community went out to the various polling stations and cast their ballots in a very organised and calm manner, even in the riverine communities.Turnout was good, he said, and the day incident-free, as people of all walks of life, having voted for the party of their choice, went about their business as per usual.

Seymour said he learnt very early in the day that more than 50% of the eligible voters in Moruca had already exercised their franchise.
ESSEQUIBO
Rajendra Prabulall, giving a breakdown on how things went in Regions 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and 3 (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) said the atmosphere was largely peaceful and quiet, and a large number of voters had turned out early to vote, while others waited for the last hour to cast their ballots.

He said he knows of only one minor problem at one of the polling stations, but the police had taken care of it. All across the Essequibo Coast, from Charity to Pomeroon, he said, the atmosphere was quite calm, and people were now anxiously awaiting the counting of the ballots.

Coming down to the last hour, he said, people, having voted, stayed in their homes awaiting news of any development.
WEST BERBICE
Over in Region 5, in the Mahaica-Berbice district, Bibi Khatoon reports that people came out in their numbers and voted solidly in several areas of that region. As the day progressed, she said, most people had already cast their ballots at the several polling stations established to cater for voters and to avoid long lines and longer waiting periods.

She said voting was done in a very civilised manner, and that the process went without a hitch, even with political candidates turning up ever so often to make spot-checks and see how things were progressing generally.

The only fly in the ointment, she said, was an isolated incident at Belladrum Primary where a large crowd, seemingly upset at the presence of PPP candidates to observe the process, had to be dispersed.

At Hopetown, many villagers positioned themselves outside the polling station to observe the removal of ballot boxes from that location. This development, Khatoo said, was as a result of reports of an incident at St. Sidwell’s Primary in Georgetown in which Information Liaison to the President, Kwame McCoy was reportedly injured and had to be hospitalised.
REGION 6
Shunza Samuels, reporting from Region 6, said that Gangaram in East Canje had a reported 80% turnout of voters, while other areas recorded a less than 60% voter turnout.

At Betsy Ground in East Canje, APNU+AFC supporters were reportedly turnung up at voters’ homes and demanding that they vote for that party.

In New Amsterdam, however, a large percentage of voters went out early in the morning to cast their ballots, and several polling stations in that region showed few or no voters at all.
ELSEWHERE
Meanwhile, Olivia Rose in Region 7 (Bartica), said the day was generally peaceful as Barticians gathered to cast their ballots at several polling stations across the region.

She said that although heavy showers of rain punctuated the afternoon hours, the mood of those waiting to vote was not affected.

From as early as 5:00hrs, she said, shouts of “Get up and vote!” were heard in the community, as young people were mobilised to go out and vote for the party of their choice.

She noted that at four locations in central Bartica, residents were observed going about their business in a peaceful manner, while others were eager to cast their ballots.

Rose said some polling day staff were unable to vote, since their names were not on the list at the polling stations they were assigned to; but altogether, voting was done in an orderly fashion, since the polling stations throughout the region were open since 6:00hrs, and international observers were visible at most polling stations.

Reporting from Region 8, in the Potaro-Siparuni district, Ravi Mohabeer said polling stations there saw a low turnout as a result of heavy downpours. However, voters’ turnout increased during the afternoon period when the rain eased up.

He said that an APNU+AFC activist allegedly was near the polling station at Campbell Town, telling voters to vote for his party and not waste their votes.

By 17:00hrs the polling stations were practically empty, since all voters had already cast their ballots.

Jocelle Archibald-Hawke in Region 10 (Linden) said that during a visit to polling stations, scores of residents were observed waiting to vote in most parts of Linden.

She reported the occurrence of an incident in which Bishop Juan Edghill and a candidate for the APNU+AFC had a verbal confrontation, after which the Bishop was prevented from entering that polling station.

Edghill had since made a complaint to the Commonwealth Observers.