For the regional elections, abstention rates are often very high. Upon opening their polling station at 7 o’clock this morning, the president and the assessors of the Ponteil polling station were pessimistic: within one hour, only about twenty voters had turned up at the polls.
But by early afternoon, participation has seen a clear increase. Paul-Marie Tibéri, an assessor at the Ponteil polling station, emphasizes: “This morning, I was more pessimistic. But now it’s much better. We are at 30% turnout, and for this station, it’s a good score.”
The president of the station, Michèle Muratore, explains that participation will be even higher later in the afternoon: “The weather is very nice today in Antibes. On Sundays, people go for a walk in the sun, so they only come to vote late in the day. From 5 PM to 8 PM, there will be lines at the polls.”
Despite the good weather dissuading some from voting, François, 59, is present: “The stakes of these elections are very serious. I think people don’t realize it, maybe because they haven’t been sufficiently informed.” For him, some important decisions have not yet been made by the PACA region: “My expectations have only been very moderately met at the regional level. So I voted for the UMP list of Thierry Mariani, which is much closer to my hopes.”
For Julia, 19, Michel Vauzelle is the most capable of leading the region: “I took the time to read each program thoroughly. But for me, it’s the PS that can best meet the expectations of the PACA region’s citizens.”
In the polling station, everyone agrees: voters are unaware of the importance of this regional vote. They don’t feel concerned, so they don’t bother to turn out to vote.
With two counting tables, the Ponteil polling station hopes to deliver its results around 9 PM.
