By Jenneh S. Kemokai |
Unlike the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections where electorates queued in lines at various polling precincts in Grand Cape Mount County and Liberia in general to cast their ballots for their respective party candidates, the November 14, 2023 Presidential Runoff saw a situation different to that of October 10 elections.
On Tuesday, November 14, 2023 during the Presidential Runoff many polling places visited by our reporter noticed that voters were not seen in queues as it was on October 10, 2023 but rather it was a situation of voters coming to walk in and cast their ballots without any hindrance.
Most Liberians, as well as Cape Mountainians, saw the lack of queues at a sign of low voters’ turnout but in actually and technically the turnout was not low because there were only two candidates on the ballots for the presidential runoff so the voters did not have to spend much time in a queue to cast their ballots.
However, citizens and residents of Cape Mount blamed Senatorial and Representative Candidates for what they termed as low turnout during the November 14, 2023 Presidential Runoff in the county.
According to Mr Foday Dennis, who is one of the Youth Leaders in Cape Mount, said during the voters Registration in the county to get registered and obtain voters’ cards, lot of people where trucked from their various Districts by Politicians and where again trucked on October 10 for the Presidential and legislative elections to cast their ballots.
Mr Dennis noted that since those Representative and Senatorial Candidates did not win, they were unable to truck their supporters to their respective constituencies never to vote int the November 14, 2023 Presidential Runoff, therefore thought this was the reason for the low turnout on Tuesday, November 14.
As for his part, Mr Haluna Rashed Kamara of BO waterside that contains Eight Polling places also said there were Liberians living in Sierra Leone who Liberian politicians brought in the county for the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections but they did bring them back for the November 14 Presidential Runoff.
According to him as an opposition it was in his interest, and alleged that there were also Sierra Leone nationals who participated in the October 10, 2023 presidential and legislative elections in Liberia they not could participate in the Presidential Runoff because the opposition bloc stood their grounds and created around borders towns in Cape Mount County with Sierra Leone. He concluded that the awareness made an impact as Sierra Leoneans never came to Cape Mount to vote in the runoff on November 14, 2023 presidential runoff, thus also contributing to what they termed as low turnout in the county.
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