Poll suspension caused voter apathy, Bangladesh residents say

Residents of Bangladesh in Jomvu constituency on Monday claimed that postponement of the governor elections contributed to the low voter turnout in the area.

Gubernatorial elections in Mombasa were postponed alongside those in Kakamega, four constituencies and two wards due to a misprint of ballot papers.

Some voters also claimed the controversy surrounding the presidential election whose outcome is now being challenged in court dented their hopes.

Robert Musembe, a resident said that people are tired due to the outcome of the August 9 polls.

"I think people are tired because of what we saw in the last elections, some are saying that they cannot vote because they were disappointed with how the process was conducted," Musembe said.

He said that they expected free and fair results with a fair outcome but did not expect the push and pull that is going on in court.

"We did not expect the postponement of the gubernatorial elections, we also did not expect the delay of the announcement of the next president that is why we are experiencing all this mood of low turn out," he said.

Musembe claimed that some voters are being bribed to cast their votes.

"We have people who want to be paid for them to come and vote, the few of us who have voted it is because we have volunteered," he said.

Another resident, Bernard Opiyo, said that so far there is peace but the turnout is low compared to last time.

"We had a strong turn out in the general elections but today I think most people have not turned up due to the outcome we received but we have hopes that people will show up because we still have time," he said.

Josephine Olande, a Presiding Officer at St Mary's Bangladesh polling station expressed optimism that things may change as the day progresses although not by a huge margin.

"We have low turnout, as much as we are expecting more people to come, I don't think it will be strong compared to last time when we were at 54 per cent. It will not be easy according to how things are at the moment," Olande said.