Voting slow, steady in Tunapuna/Piarco

Despite a few minor hiccups, voting was slow and steady in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation on Monday morning. Both voters and candidates said the process went smoothly.

Many voters said they came out to vote for change in their communities and their countries. They said it was important to exercise their right to vote.

People' National Movement co-ordinator Noel Garcia said there had been no major incidents in the corporation.

However, a group of people leaving the El Dorado West Secondary School were overheard saying that one of their number had gone to vote, but her name had been crossed out on the electoral roll. They said they were not voting for anyone today.

They declined to speak to Newsday further.

Garcia said the woman had registered to work with the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) and consequently her name was put on the list of special voters. In the end, she was not called to work by the EBC, but it would have struck out her name, and so she was not allowed to vote.

St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen said her party. the United National Congress, had received reports of instances of voter intimidation by PNM activists, and these had been reported to its lawyers and the EBC.

The El Dorado West Secondary School was the busiest location Newsday visited, with a steady stream of voters.

UNC candidate for Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua Sookdeo Prakash Barath said some voters were confused, as they were accustomed to voting at the El Dorado East Secondary School, but the EBC had moved several polling stations to the El Dorado West Secondary School. Newsday saw people stationed at the old polling station to direct people to the new one.

PNM candidate for Macoya/Trincity Josiah Austin said voting went smoothly in his district and he had received no complaints from voters. He said voting had been slow in the morning but he expected it to pick up in the evening.

PNM candidate for Auzonville/Tunapuna John Boyd Briggs said voting had been uneventfal for himself and voters in the district. A first-time candidate, Briggs said the campaign had been an enlightening one.

UNC candidate for Valsayn/St Joseph Seema Ramcharan-Augustine said voting went smoothly. She said up to midday, over 1,200 people had voted in her district, which surprised her.