It seems that on average, only 30% of eligible citizens voted in the municipal election. In the National District, the capital city, the preliminary vote was 24% with 54% of the votes counted. Analysts will be answering many questions as they look into several of the possible reasons for the high abstention.
Did the Covid-19 scare have an effect on voter turnout? Did the young people go to the beach instead of voting? Or was it that the ruling PLD party voters not turn out after polls said they were losing? Were government employees a large part of those who didn’t vote? Did the PLD political patronage model collapse? Was the turnout just normal for a separate municipal election? Were people just tired after being asked to vote for a third time? What effect did the canceled municipal election of 16 February have on the rescheduled election given that people have not been given a clear explanation for the e-voting glitch?
Actually, the last time a separate municipal election was held was in 1968. There were joint municipal and congressional elections held in 1998, 2002 and 2006, when the vote was around 40%.
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CDN
16 March 2020