Despite voter education efforts on the part of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), there is uncertainty over whether voters will turn out in large numbers at this year’s Local Government Election (LGE).
Speaking at a media interface on Saturday, GECOM’s Registration Officer Clairmont Mingo and Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward, noted that there have been several voter education efforts but said the secretariat has no way of being sure if these efforts will result in voter turnout.
“We go out there, we talk to the people but can we tell if they will vote? No,” Mingo indicated, adding that voter mobilization is not solely the responsibility of GECOM but that political parties and other civil society groups also have a role to play.
Ward, however, acknowledged that more could have been done by GECOM.
“We believe that there is quite a lot more that could have been done in terms of Civil and Voter Education (CVE),” she explained, noting that that while there usually is a CVE Manager, that post is currently empty at the commission.
“I have been picking up from both sides of the table, PR and CVE and it is really daunting,” she noted.
On Friday, a seemingly poor turnout by members of the disciplined services at early voting raised concerns about voter apathy.
When Stabroek News spoke with GECOM Chairman, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson at the Prison Officers’ Conference Room on Camp and Bent streets, Georgetown, at about 10.15 am, he indicated that he had already visited about seven polling stations and observed that the turnout was low.
A total of 7,918 members of the disciplined services were eligible to vote but while no official figures are available, the turnout was poor.
At the last LGE, held in 2016, 55.6% of the disciplined service members cast their votes during early voting, compared with the estimated 76% at the 2015 general elections.
This figure was a precursor to even lower numbers on LGE voting day on March 18, 2016, when a mere 47.1% of those eligible to vote showed up to cast their ballot.
Numbers released by GECOM showed that the lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Municipality of Linden, where only 35.15% of registered electors exercised their franchise. Linden was followed by Georgetown, with a turnout of 37.66%. The highest voter turnout was recorded in the NDC of Cane Grove on the East Coast Demerara, while the highest municipal turnout was in the new municipality of Mabaruma, where 58.44% of the registered electors voted.
The voter turnout at the last LGE, however, represented an improvement from the 36% of voters who cast their ballot on August 8, 1994.
A total of 573,923 voters are registered to vote in the upcoming elections, which are set to be run in 80 Local Authority Areas, including 10 municipalities.
