leeanna.maharaj
@guardian.co.tt
The Mayaro region experienced a low voter turnout yesterday, Member of Parliament Rushton Paray said.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Paray confirmed there was a low voter turnout in the area.
“Normally, here in the Mayaro region, we do see a bit of an upsurge in the afternoon, so we are looking forward to seeing that upsurge throughout all our polling divisions, but in general, the count seems to be low, which is what’s happening all over the country at this time,” he said.
Earlier in the morning, after voting at the Mayaro Secondary School, Paray said no matter the results of the elections, he will be happy to cooperate with the winner.
“It’s the democratic process at work. We fielded good candidates, the opponents are all good candidates as well, so we look forward. I mean, as MP, I am prepared to work with whoever sits in the council going forward, because it’s for the betterment of the community. I’m ready to work with anybody who sits in council,” he said.
Paray also noted that the voting process was not lengthy and he and his family did not have to wait for a long period of time. He said that he was relieved that the day for Local Government Elections had finally arrived.
He said, “It’s been a long campaign, it’s been seven weeks. It’s been hard, it’s been expensive. Seven weeks of campaigning is very, very expensive. It takes a toll on you financially, physically and emotionally. So, I think all the camps on the both sides would be glad that the day is finally here.”
Meanwhile, chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation, Raymond Cozier, who voted at the St Thomas RC School during the morning period, described the turnout as poor.
“There are times before when I came there, there were people lined up and I had to wait, and this time, I went there, and I didn’t have to wait… the station was empty,” he said.
Cozier said he had involved in elections for 30 years, thus he was not feeling worried but calm and anticipated good results.
