Belmont East, Barataria vote today

THE people of Barataria and Belmont East go to the polls today to vote in by-elections in their respective districts. Today’s by-elections are being held as result of the seats becoming vacant due to the deaths of People’s National Movement (PNM) councillors Pernell Bruno (July 8, 2017) and Darryl Rajpaul (November 18, 2017).

On June 6, the Prime Minister advised President Paula Mae-Weekes that the Barataria and Belmont East by-elections will be held today. Nomination Day was June 25. A total of 13,444 people will vote in Monday’s by-elections in Belmont East and Barataria. According to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), 3.237 people are registered to vote in Belmont East. In Barataria, a total of 10,2017 people are eligible to vote. The EBC also said there are five polling stations in Belmont East and eight polling stations in Barataria.

The PNM, United National Congress (UNC) and the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) are each fielding two candidates in the by-elections.

The PNM candidates are Nicole Young and Kimberly Small for Belmont East and Barataria respectively. Liana Babb-Gonzales and Sharon Maraj-Dharam are the respective UNC Belmont East and Barataria candidates.

The PEP is being respresented in Belmont East and Barataria by Felicia Holder and Christoph Samlal, respectively. Weeks of hectic political campaigning came to a head last week, with all three parties holding their final meetings and motorcades to rally support ahead of today’s by-elections.

In the weeks leading up to the by-elections, voters have been tight-lipped over who they will support today. Traditionally, local government by-elections have low voter turnouts compared to local government and general elections. Newsday understands that the PNM and UNC candidates will be at their respective camps in Belmont East and Barataria after the polls close at 6 pm.