Jagdeo worried about low voter turnout PDF | Print |
Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:41
President Bharrat Jagdeo, wary of the impact that voter-apathy can have on the Peoples Progressive Party Civic’s chances of being re-elected for a fifth straight term, has warned constituents that if they do not vote, the party could lose the November 28 polls.
“You matter, your vote matters. Every single vote is valuable. If we don’t cast that vote, it’s a waste. We would waste this power that we have in our hands to ensure that freedom continues in this country,” President Jagdeo told residents at Enmore village, traditionally a PPP stronghold.
The state-owned Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Jagdeo as saying that if a lukewarm attitude is taken to the elections, a majority of persons could stay away from the polls.
“Many times I go around the country and people say ‘we have won the elections,’…But elections are not won only through people going to rallies or people showing up for meetings, they are won when every single person gets out to vote,” said Jagdeo.
The Guyana Elections Commission says 475,496 persons are eligible to vote in next month’s poll. In the 2006, elections 338,839 of the 492,369 persons or 68.82 persons had turned out to vote.
The Guyanese leader also seized the opportunity to again accuse sections of the media of distorting reports on PPPC rallies. He singled out Demerara Waves again for doing so.
He did not, however, say that an overwhelming majority of attendees at rallies were taken by chartered buses from long distances away. For instance, attendees for the Kitty rally were shuttled in from Region 10, West Coast and East Coast Demerara. Similarly numerous persons were bussed and trucked into the rallies at Albion and Linden.
Contrary ton Jagdeo, figures on both A Partnership for National Unity and PPPC rallies in Wismar were posted on Demerara Waves’ Facebook and Twitter. However, there was poor Blackberry connectivity on Saturday that resulted in late postings about APNU’s meeting.
Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:41
President Bharrat Jagdeo, wary of the impact that voter-apathy can have on the Peoples Progressive Party Civic’s chances of being re-elected for a fifth straight term, has warned constituents that if they do not vote, the party could lose the November 28 polls.
“You matter, your vote matters. Every single vote is valuable. If we don’t cast that vote, it’s a waste. We would waste this power that we have in our hands to ensure that freedom continues in this country,” President Jagdeo told residents at Enmore village, traditionally a PPP stronghold.
The state-owned Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Jagdeo as saying that if a lukewarm attitude is taken to the elections, a majority of persons could stay away from the polls.
“Many times I go around the country and people say ‘we have won the elections,’…But elections are not won only through people going to rallies or people showing up for meetings, they are won when every single person gets out to vote,” said Jagdeo.
The Guyana Elections Commission says 475,496 persons are eligible to vote in next month’s poll. In the 2006, elections 338,839 of the 492,369 persons or 68.82 persons had turned out to vote.
The Guyanese leader also seized the opportunity to again accuse sections of the media of distorting reports on PPPC rallies. He singled out Demerara Waves again for doing so.
He did not, however, say that an overwhelming majority of attendees at rallies were taken by chartered buses from long distances away. For instance, attendees for the Kitty rally were shuttled in from Region 10, West Coast and East Coast Demerara. Similarly numerous persons were bussed and trucked into the rallies at Albion and Linden.
Contrary ton Jagdeo, figures on both A Partnership for National Unity and PPPC rallies in Wismar were posted on Demerara Waves’ Facebook and Twitter. However, there was poor Blackberry connectivity on Saturday that resulted in late postings about APNU’s meeting.