"One of the things I think we have to recognise as citizens," said ERCC member Mr. Douglas Wattley on Tuesday's Island Issues, "is that it makes sense to be a part of a process like this because if you are on the outside looking in and never become a part of it then you are not in a position to influence the results."

According to the Electoral Reform Secretariat Press Officer, Ms. Valencia Grant, this message, which stresses that the notions of public empowerment and public participation are entrenched in the St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform Exercise, is markedly different from the message delivered by the Leader of the People's Action Movement (PAM), Mr. Lindsay Grant, at the St.

Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform Exercise Launch on Wednesday, August 23, 2006.

Mr. Grant said that, "...the Committees that have already been appointed cannot be seen as independent or impartial. Nor do they reflect the fairness or the transparency expected by stakeholders. What they represent are committees designed and specifically formulated to achieve a desired result."

But Ms. Grant's statement said ERCC member, Mr. Wattley was adamant that there is nothing fixed or prearranged about the process.

Mr. Wattley said that the electoral reform process shall be free and fair, because its purpose transcends the political realm.

"People have to recognise that we're not asking them to become involved necessarily in a political process. Rather, it's a nation-building, democratic process, which all persons should be willing, should be able to make a contribution to," Mr. Wattley said to the host of Island Issues, Mr.

Mahlon Goma, who is Director of the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS).

The ERCC Press Officer pointed out that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has launched the National Electoral Reform Exercise in order to achieve electoral reform with the participation of a wide cross-section of people.

~~Adz:Right~~"It is inviting people to present their concerns and suggestions for an improved system to the ERCC at consultations [dates are found in the Consultations Calendar on this Web site]. Consultations will last for at least two hours. The ERCC intends to give everyone the opportunity to participate during the meetings. However, if this goal cannot be achieved because of time constraints, the ERCC shall communicate alternative methods that attendees can use to voice their opinions to the committee. These alternatives include regular mail [National Electoral Reform Secretariat, Former Development Bank Building, Church Street, Basseterre, St. Kitts] and e-mail [erccsubmissions@gov.kn]," Ms. Grant informed.

She disclosed that when consultations wrap up on October 13, the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) will compile its findings and submit a report to the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC), spelling out the main issues and recommendations that the public raised. The National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC), whose life span is estimated at four weeks, will determine whether the ERCC report is a practical response to the issues of concern.

Moreover, the NAERBC will prepare its own report for submission to another committee, the Parliamentary Constitutional & Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (PCERBC), on how best to execute the proposed reforms in order to achieve a legally reformed electoral system.

NAERBC membership comprises Mr. Raphael Archibald, MBE (Chairman); a Representative of the St. Kitts Christian Council, Archdeacon Valentine Hodge; Representatives of the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, Rev. Dr.

Oldain Charles; Representative of the Nevis Evangelical association, Pastor Eversley Pemberton; Representative of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades & Labour Union, Mr. Stanley Franks; Representative of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Franklyn Brand; Representative of the St.

Kitts Teachers' Union, Mr. Clyde Christopher; Representative of the St.

Kitts and Nevis Bar Association, Mrs. Patricia Dublin-Lewis; Director of Youth, Mr. Geoffrey Hanley, and Representatives of Political Parties, Mrs.

Eugenie Condor of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party; Mr. Herman Liburd of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP); and Mr. Theodore Hobson of the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM). All political parties with seats in the National Assembly - the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party; NRP; CCM, and the People's Action Movement (PAM) - had been invited to nominate representatives to the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC).

Parliamentary Constitutional & Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee

(PCERBC) membership comprises Hon. Sam Condor (Chairman), who serves as the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly; Hon. Dwyer Astaphan; Hon. Delano Bart; Hon. Malcolm Guishard; Hon. Patrice Nisbett, and Hon.

Shawn Richards. The PCERBC will advise the Attorney General on the matters that are to be the subject of legislative action by Parliament, according to the St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform White Paper.

It is important for the public in the Federation and Nationals abroad - the stakeholders in this process - to understand the point that matters to be the subject of legislative action will be based on those issues, concerns, and recommendations brought to the fore during the public consultation period.

Mr. Raphael Archibald, Chairman of the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC) reiterated the integral role consultations play in the electoral reform process. "What we are doing is through consultation, and consultation is a key word," he said last Tuesday. "We want to consult everybody, and democracy - true democracy - is our goal,"

Mr. Archibald added.

In an effort to inform members of the public about what is expected of them during the consultation period, the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee

(ERCC) has organized a media blitz, which has taken its members to about eight radio talk shows on ZIZ Radio, Sugar City Roc, and WINN FM in St.

Kitts, and Choice FM and Von Radio in Nevis since the launch. The ERCC also held a press conference, which several radio stations carried live on Monday.

ERCC member Mr. Clement "Bouncin" Williams was the scheduled guest today on ZIZ Radio's Saturday Talk between 11:30 am and 12pm. Another ERCC member Mr.

Clifford Thomas and Mr. Douglas Wattley were on WINN FM's Toni Frederick during the Breakfast with Toni show on Monday, September 4, the first day of consultations.

The first Town Hall Meeting takes place Monday night at the Basseterre Senior High School Auditorium, starting at 7:30pm.