Minister Byran Woodside, left, speaks with Exuma voters. (BIS Photo / Gena Gibbs).
Exuma, The Bahamas – Low
voter turnout in Exuma, the Exuma Cays and Ragged Island was a cause of concern
for local government and parliamentary registrar officials, while conducting
the June 23 elections in the nation’s fourth heavily populated district.
“The poll workers were
dispatched to the polls at 7 o’clock this morning. They did their pre-balloting
at 7:30 and the polls opened at 8 a.m. So far, I have inspected all of
the polling divisions and the process has been going along pretty smoothly,”
said Ivan Ferguson, senior deputy administrator of the Exumas, and Ragged
Island.
“I have had no complaints at
all and I anticipate no complaints before the poll closes at 6 p.m. this
afternoon.”
The slow early morning
response for local government supporters was attributed to inclement weather,
but was expected to pick up as the weather cleared.
“We have had inclement
weather this morning and I believe that may have affected the turn out today,”
said Mr. Ferguson.
“The inclement weather began
at about 5:30 this morning and never stopped or subsided until about quarter to
8 and that may have affected the turn out. But it’s sunny now and I
believe you will see more people at the polls to vote.”
Exumians cast their votes for their local government representatives, which have been uncontested in five districts throughout the Exumas and Ragged Island. minister Byran Woodside, centre, chats with Administrator Ivan Ferguson, left, and an unidentified resident. (BIS Photo / Gena Gibbs).
Exumians seem to be content
with their local representatives and have not challenged candidates in the five
areas.
“The elections here have been
somewhat low-keyed. There seems to have been very little interest in
voting in certain polling divisions,” said Mr. Ferguson.
“In Exuma, there has been
uncontested polling divisions in five areas and so, that is an indication of
the lacklustre support that we have had for local government elections in this
district.”
Exumians had brief concerns
about which register would be used for the local government elections, however
officials quickly established that the current register was ready to be used
for this election. The new voter cards would not be distributed until the
close of the local government elections to avoid confusion.
“At the outset, concerns were
raised about the register that would have been used during this election.
There seems to have been some confusion about the register that would have been
used. But that was clarified,” said Mr. Ferguson.
“They were told that they can
vote on the current register because two registers cannot be enforced at the
same time. And, the new voter cards cannot be distributed at this time,
while the current register is still in force, it was corrected.”
Exuma’s local government
officials are pleased with the decision handed down by the central government
during the 2011 Budget Communication. They are committed to adhering to
transparency and accountability measures of public funds, imposed by central
government.
“The
local government practitioners have no choice but to follow the lead as it
relates to expenditure of public funds. We’ve always expressed the
importance of transparency and accountability,” said Mr. Ferguson.
“As
the principle financial officer for local government, I shall insist on
transparency and accountability, as it relates to the expenditure of public
funds.”
