Caption: PNM candidate for Lengua/Indian Walk Autly Granthume gives a thumbs up in front of a map showing the Princes Town Regional Corporation at his campaign office at Indian Walk. AZP News/Sue-Ann Wayow
By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE electorate of Lengua/Indian Walk will go to the polls for a second time hoping to break a tie between the two major contesting parties on June 17.
Since the last local government election on August 14, 2023, the district has not been able to confirm its local government councillor for the area that has an electorate of 8,465 according to a revised list by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
This is an increase from last year’s 8,388.
AZP News spoke recently with the People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate Autly Granthume who is hoping that this time around he can secure the electoral district for his party.
If he does not succeed and the United National Congress (UNC) candidate Nicole Gopaul wins, it would mean that the UNC will have complete control over the Princes Town Regional Corporation.
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This time around, there is no Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) candidate but there is one candidate who is contesting independently, Peterson Morales.
Granthume, who leads the 3rd Company Baptist Church is a known and respected member of the community.
For this reason, many supporters thought his win was a sure one but votes ended up in a tie with Gopaul during a second recount. Both candidates secured 1,428 votes.
Granthume told AZP News, “Many persons confessed that they did not show up to vote because they had taken it for granted and because I am such a known person they say well he already won so they did not seek great interest in going.”
This time around, his supporters are rallying troops to ensure that Granthume wins by a much larger number.
“I feel confident going around the second time. I feel more assured that we will be successful without having to have a re-election or a re-count because I believe in the kind of support that people have been showing and the kind of commitment they make, that I will have more persons coming out to support me,” he said.
His campaign did not stop from last year but this time around, Granthume said he paid more attention to the electorate’s concerns.
“We paid more listening ear to the people to know exactly some of the things they really need. Sometimes in our campaign we are so busy caught up securing the votes from the people, we don’t have time to listen to the real needs and see how we will be able to meet their needs as soon as we are privileged to.”
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Main concerns for Lengua/Indian Walk are: water, roads, street lights, employment especially for young people and a proper sporting facility.
About his main opponent he said, “We are not strangers to each other. We live not far from each other. We respect each other, we maintain that. We maintain the decision that the people would make, whether from my house vote for them and their house vote for me. At the end of the day, we still have to respect those choices.”
Granthume added, “We believe that the outcome of this would be a good incentive to know how to chart our way forward.”
