The Ministry of Communities should not be blamed for low voter turnout at this year’s local government elections, Social Protection Minister Amna Ally said on Friday, while also noting that the failure by the former government to hold the polls for over two decades denied citizens knowledge of their rights and responsibilities in local governance.
“This country has not had local government elections for 22 years. It had virtually been wiped out. This coalition government re-introduced it in 2016. The people of this country have not yet grown accustomed to local government elections,” Ally told a joint APNU and AFC press conference on Friday, at Congress Place, Sophia.
Ally added that it is now a difficult task for government “to break into the electorate that this local democracy will benefit them.”