ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, The Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC), Monday dismissed as “ludicrous” allegations that people from Africa were being facilitated to vote in the January 18 general election here.
ABEC chairman, John Jarvis, in an interview on the state-owned ABS television, said he had heard of reports that persons from Africa were being granted the necessary documents that would allow them to cast ballots in the election that puts the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) against the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) and the smaller opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) for the 17-seat Parliament.
ABEC said 53 candidates, including three independent candidates, have been nominated to contest the polls.
We at the Electoral Commission have been very thorough so far as the process is concerned. For instance, we the whole question of eligibility, we pay close attention to it, and this is why we sought to get from the scrutineers the type of diligence to ensure that the people who come in to register are, in fact, bonafide and minimize the whole question of not too much traffic with regards to claims and objections,” said Jarvis.
“Of course, coming down to the wire, you have a situation where people go into all types of frenzy” regarding the registration of persons. Jarvis told viewers, “as we normally say to those who are making those objections, you have to bring proof to ensure what you are saying is legitimate and it can stand up in the court of law.”
Jarvis said he heard it being “banded about that Africans were coming here to vote and some would already have their voter ID card.
“Now that is virtually, virtually impossible. As custodians of the people’s business, it is our remit to ensure that the process is free and fair,” he said, adding that this is one of the things the Supervisor of Elections, Dame Lorna Simon, is “very particular about.
“There shouldn’t be any attempt on the part of any of us to compromise the legislation as it relates to the whole question of eligibility and so on. So when I hear that story, I immediately dismiss it because it is as far as it is from the west”.
Dame Lorna told the television program that for any Commonwealth person to be registered to vote, they must be here for seven years and living in the constituencies for six months.
“So you must bring your passport; your passport must show you have legally been living in Antigua and Barbuda for seven years. So if an African comes off a plane, they may have seven years in their passport, you go to a registration unit, there are scrutineers for each political party, and they get5 a copy of each registration done.
“So the whole question of persons coming in is ludicrous,” she added.
There has been much speculation here regarding the recent arrival of hundreds of African visitors into the country over the past few weeks amid suggestions that they could participate in the election.
Media reports here said the sudden arrival of people from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Ghana, has been shrouded in controversy, from confusion over their accommodations to the reluctance of some to speak with local media.
Dame Lorna also disclosed that ABEC had completed the printing of the ballots to be used in the election “and today ends the process of claims and objections.
“And so, any time after this evening, we will start printing the revised register, including persons registered up to November 30 who went through claims and objections during December.
“When we have printed that revised list, we also print the register for elections. That register will be broken down according to polling stations, and we would also be printing a photo list these will be used in the polling stations on election day,” she added.
Meanwhile, the UPP leader, Harold Lovell, has defended his decision not to participate in a debate involving Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the DNA leader, Joanne Massiah, that was being organized by a media outlet here.
“I believe that if we can reach the point where we have a debate involving different media houses, not just one… and that’s not the way I know that debates take place,” Lovell told a news conference.
He said there is a need for a debate commission as is the case in Jamaica, adding that he has not heard Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley “debating anybody, I haven’t listened to any debate in Dominica, and I haven’t heard of any discussion in any place except in Jamaica.
“In Jamaica, they have a well-constituted Debate Commission, and it is done in a way whereby different media entitles and personalities come together, formulate rules, and have a debate,” Lovell said, adding, “as I said to the organizers show me any other country where what you are proposing has even been implemented.
“I am yet to find one country where a media house invites the leaders of three parties to sit around and chat,” Lovell added.
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