By Garwin Davis, Assistant News EditorUNLIKE PREVIOUS polls where voter apathy was the accepted norm, there is now evidence to suggest that the June 19 Local Government elections could have an unusually high turnout.
This was one of the findings of a poll commissioned by The Gleaner and conducted by pollster Don Anderson and his team of researchers from Market Research Services Limited.
According to Anderson, "Seventy-seven per cent of the persons interviewed say they are registered to vote in the upcoming elections." He added that among these persons, 56.5 per cent, an unusually high number, say they intend to vote in the next Local Government election.
Field work for the survey was conducted between May 9 and 19 and involved interviews with 1,000 persons aged 18 years across the island's 14 parishes. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 per cent.
Local Government elections, traditionally, do not generate the same level of interest among the electorate as do general elections. Indeed, the voter turnout for decades has been low. The survey also found that 58.1 per cent of those polled are of the view that the Local Government elections are very important. Another 26.5 per cent, although viewing it somewhat sceptically, still consider it important. Only 15 per cent say the elections were not important.
YOUTH UNINTERESTED
Anderson, however, pointed out that "actual voter turnout is quite often lower than stated intentions as several persons change their minds before election date or are prevented from voting for one reason or another."
He added that, "as in the case with the national elections, voter intention is lowest amongst the younger voters and conversely higher amongst the older age group. Amongst the socio-economic groups, more upper-income persons say that they intend to vote, compared to those in the lower strata of the society."
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson last
Thursday announced June 19 as the date for the Local Government elections. It had originally been slated for March 31, but according to the Prime Minister, had to be postponed to accommodate several important pieces of legislation. He also cited the recently-concluded Budget presentation as "something that has to be done" before the elections were held.
NOT SURPRISED
Contacted last night, People's National Party (PNP) general secretary, Maxine Henry-Wilson, said she was not surprised that the local elections appeared to be generating a lot of interest, noting that both parties had been "dogged" in their approach to the elections.
"There might be a number of reasons for this," she said. "Both sides will be fielding quality candidates who have been out there in the field for quite a while... I mean it has been a longer than usual campaign... there has been a lot of coverage. So while it might be surprising in terms of what the country is accustomed to, I can't say we are surprised at the interest the elections have been generating."
Asked whether it could be a case where people have become fed up with the Government and badly want to send it a message, Mrs. Henry-Wilson said, "We will accept whatever verdict the people deliver." She continued: "With all the constraints we have had we have tried to do the best we can. Certainly it would be a signal which we couldn't ignore but... we would still be the Government. It would mean that we would have the time to see the areas we have to work on and where we came up short."
And how ready is the party?
"We had a very good meeting today," she said. "Yes, we are ready."
ALL IN PLACE FOR JLP
Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, who left the island on Saturday to give a lecture at Oxford University, is also confident. He noted that a check on the status of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) preparedness last Thursday showed that "all arrangements were in place and plans proceeding smoothly for the elections." Babsy Grange, one of the JLP's Deputy Leaders, said last night that it was not surprising that people were excited about the upcoming elections, saying the Government needed to be sent a very strong message.
The Anderson poll was conducted before the date for the elections was announced.
