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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Jan 2008 : 16:10:54
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Low Voter Turnout at Council Elections
Voter turnout at the council elections has been very low in the areas monitored by Foroyaa as narrated in the following reports
Banjul Council Elections
By Amie Sanneh
Voter turnout for the local government elections in Banjul has been described by most presiding officers as poor. No reason is given to for the low voter turnout.
Samba Faal, the APRC candidate for the Mayoral seat of Banjul shortly after casting his vote at the Gambia High School told reporters that there are many poling booths without long queues. “Hopefully by the end of the day more people will come and vote,”he noted.
Mr. Faal who spoke with confidence said he has a master plan for Banjul which includes infrastructural development and environmental sanitation. He said his priority will be environmental sanitation to ensure that the city is clean. “We will see the difference,” he noted confidently.
Femi Peters, the UDP candidate who also spoke with optimism said the public holiday is not necessary because people did not come out to vote. “The public holiday was meant for people to come out and vote but they are not making good use of it because it shows that there is no need for the holiday,” he remarked. Mr. Peters noted that had it been that there was no public holiday people would have left their offices to come and vote and the turn out would have been better.
Commenting on his objectives, Mr. Peters said Banjul as a city needs to have a plan of its own. He pointed out that he will improve the revenue base.
When asked whether he will be able to work with the government while he belongs to an opposition party, he explained that he intends to have a cordial relationship with the government and also hopes that the government will be cordial with him. “Government will not be that negative towards development plans for the city.”
The two mayoral candidates for Banjul both described the voting process as fair and urged their supporters to exercise patience and be peaceful.
The Returning Office for the Box Bar Road in Banjul , Siaka Joof said in his view many people had not turned up because they wished.
He said they did not encounter any problem except in the case of voters not knowing their polling stations.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues
No. 11/2008, 25 - 27 January, 2008
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