League Signals Readiness for Mock Election

Details

Politics

Friday, 31 August 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - "I would say that we are ready" declared George Rick James, Secretary of the Free and Fair Elections League ahead of the September 6 commencement of mock general elections.

Ballot boxes are in place, ballot papers are expected to be complete by Saturday, additional copies of the Register of Electors have been provided by the Electoral Commission, and poll clerks have already received a crash course on the process, he said.

Also selected are the Chief Elections Officer Hezekiah Lewis, while barrister E. Denicia Thomas is the Returning Officer.

"We have about everything covered. The things that we need are not crucial -- like about 20 chairs," James told Caribarena.

The plan has not yet received official support from the two main political parties the ruling United Progressive Party (UPP) and the main opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP).

The league is yet to receive a response from the UPP and ALP to its July 18 letter in which they were informed of the plan and invited to make available two persons to be polling agents at each polling station to observe and report on the conduct of the election.

"I accidently ran into the UPP Chairman Harold Lovell and he told me that they were not going to get involved," James recalled.

However, Opposition Member of Parliament Steadroy "Cutie" Benjamin, UPP parliamentary representative and former MP Winston Williams have reportedly pledged their support to the initiative.

"For us, the implications could be if this is successful it could have an impact on the general election in the sense that it might show that you don't need the 151 polling stations. The other thing relates to the identification. We are asking people to use any official picture ID once they're a registered voter," James said.

"The results would determine what happens next."

Currently, the official voting system requires those registered to use an elector ID card.

James disclosed that an international agency that deals with elections around the region has shown keen interest in the initiative.

He said a representative of the unnamed agency, "made contact with me to congratulate the league about the conduct of this mock election because it is helping to deepen the democracy and he indicated the results could give an indication as to how the people are thinking and other aspects could be drawn from the results."

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Antigua Antigua St. John's - An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 was felt in Antigua and Barbuda and the French island of Martinique Saturday night, but the... read more

The polls will open on the 6th of September from 8 am – 6 pm every Thursday until September 27th at Bargain Centre at Perry Bay, Christo's Supermarket on Old Parham Road close to Antigua Motors, First Choice Supermarket on Anchorage Road and Epicurean Supermarket on Friar’s Hill Road.

Voting takes place in Barbuda on the final day of the exercise.

The options on the ballot paper will be ALP, UPP, New Party and Independent.

On Tuesday, representatives of the league met with Commissioner of Police Vere Browne to officially request police assistance in collecting and storing the ballots.

The watchdog organisation is awaiting a response.

The mock election aims to stimulate interest in the voting process with the theme being "vote and give your country an early wake up call."

• < Prev
• Next >