WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao will go to the polls today under special circumstances. The island has seen a significant increase in the number of corona infections in recent days, mainly due to the British variant of the coronavirus.
Therefore, voters are advised to "keep a face mask on all the time, avoid multi-person gatherings, and return home immediately after the vote has been cast."
The usual festival of democracy with colors should be celebrated sober this year. Party rallies, party supporters, parades when the political leaders go to vote; it is all banned this year.
"Only if we stick to the rules can we prevent the elections from becoming a 'superspread event' and we have to take far-reaching measures immediately," emphasized the Curaçao epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth on Thursday. The epidemiologist said he was very concerned. But postponing the election is also not an option, Gerstenbluth said. "Because delay until when?"
Proxy voting not allowed
About 2500 persons on Curaçao have been infected or come into contact with infected persons. They must remain in quarantine. But the question is whether they do that. That is why the elderly and people with poor health should ask themselves, as far as Gerstenbluth is concerned, whether the chance of infection is worth voting.
"Nobody affects the right to vote, but in some cases, you can ask yourself whether going to the polls is worth the risk," said the epidemiologist. Voting by proxy is not allowed on the island.
There are 117 polling stations on Curaçao for more than 116,000 voters (53,600 men and 62,500 women). Polling stations open at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. (local time). Two hours later, the curfew starts and the politicians also have to sit at home waiting for the results.