The Front cover and inside front page of issue 825 of the Courier, November 19th, are devoted to the recent election where a few registered voters (less than 10%) made a choice between two candidates to be councillors on our West Mersea Town Council.
Local inhabitants have expressed their frustration that they knew nothing of the election, or that they could not make an educated choice as they only had a bit of knowledge about one candidate.
It may be a symbol of democracy to have an election rather than coopting a councillor, but it's not democratic if registered voters have not had equal information about both candidates.
If the Courier found it possible to write about one candidate, I feel they should have made very sure that there was a balanced piece about the other candidate. How can the voters make a democratic choice if they only know about one of the two candidates?
The discussion regarding ballot cards has truth in that people often learn about a voting day when they get their cards. However, it was decided to save money so no ballots were sent out.
To counter that, the previous issue of the Courier could have had a headline announcing the voting day, AND had coverage of both candidates. Then, it would have been a helpful local paper.
regards
Faith Richardson, Mersea Island Society
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