In Mbengwi, divisional headquarters of Momo in the North West region, natural and man made challenges caused a very poor voter turnout.

Naturally, early that morning even before the polls were opened at 8am, it rained and only completely subsided at mid day. This factor alone, discouraged a good number of voters from going to the cast their vote.

Before the election day, the region had been subdued to a one month lockdown by separatist fighters. Since everyone now fears the unknown, this affected turnout in Mbengwi negatively. More to that there wasn’t circulation implying that one had to trek  to the polls.

Tumoh Becline from Barakwe would’ve loved to go join others in electing a new president but unfortunately his voters card had been destroyed by non state armed fighters some years back. Again he had misplaced his national identity card and was supposed to have trekked for kilometres to access his poling station that had been relocated from Barakwe to SAR/SM Mbengwi. At the end he had no choice than stay at home.

Even during the campaigns prior to the election day, all parties limited their campaigns to the central town of Mbengwi. The Cpdm, Sdf, Undp, held various campaign rallies only in quarters around the central municipality. The voters that were not reached out to with the various campaign messages and tips, gadgets certainly saw no need to go to the polls to vote.

Barrister Ndangoh Tah Calvin is the national legal adviser of the Social Democratic Front (SDf) party. To him, the poor voter turnout was because elections have always been frauded  in Mbengwi and so people are fade up. « In 2020, we were made to understand that more than a thousand people voted in G.B.H.S Mbengwi but today I decided to be here from morning till evening and can assure you not up to 200 total votes were recorded here » said the legal luminary.

He added that his party had long expressed disappointment with the centralisation of poling stations. In prospecting next year’s municipal and legislative elections during which Mbengwi subdivision will still be involved, he said « It’s going to be more serious because we are going to makesure all these poling stations crowded here are decentralised. We are going to take the poling stations closer to the people. We don’t expect people to leave Kobenyang, Zang Tabi and come here to vote. »

By Fongoh Primus Ayeh