BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN the first of a series of articles to sensitise nationals, citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis on the laws that govern the Registration of Voters, we spoke about the process in having one’s address changed from the place where one used to live in a given constituency. This, the second of such articles, will address how to register as a voter.
According to the National Assembly Elections Act, Chapter 2:01:
(1) A person who is qualified in accordance with the Act to be registered as a voter for a constituency shall:
(a) apply in person, in writing, to the Registration Officer for that constituency to have his or her name entered in the register of voters for that constituency; and
(b) provide the Registration Officer with a qualifying address submitted by him or her for that constituency.
(2) An application made under sub-regulation (1) shall be made on Form 1A, 1B, 1C set out in the Schedule which correctly corresponds to the specific section of the Act under which the applicant claims to be qualified to be registered as a voter.
(3) On receipt of the documents mentioned in sub-regulations (1) and (2), the Registration Officer shall consider the application and determine whether the application should be approved.
(4) Upon presentation of an application under sub-regulation (1) the applicant’s details shall be entered into the electronic dadabase provided by the Chief registration Officer.
(5) Where the applicant claims to be qualified to be registered as a voter as a citizen of St. Christopher and Nevis pursuant to section 37:(1)(a), 37:(1)(b) or 37:(1)(c) of the Act, he or she shall certify the correctness of the information so entered by placing his or her signature and date on the application and by producing:
(a) his or her birth or baptismal certificate;
(b) certificate of citizenship;
(c) deed poll;
(d) passport or driver’s licence;
(e) any other form of identification containing his or her photograph;
and such other evidentiary document as may be required by the Chief registration Officer to authenticate the identity of the applicant.
(6) Where the applicants claims to be qualified to be registered as a voter as a Commonwealth citizen pursuant to section 37:(1)(d) of the Act, he or she shall certify the correctness of the information so entered by placing his or her signature and date on the application and by producing his or her passport in order to establish his or her identity, nationality and immigration status.
(7) If an applicant is unable to place his or her signature on the application pursuant to the provisions of sub-regulation (5) or sub-regulation (6), the applicant shall place his or her thumb only.
(8) If the registration Officer is not satisfied with the applicant’s claim to register as a voter, the Registration Officer shall issue to the applicant a notice of disallowance in Form 1D set out in the Schedule.
(9) If the Registration Officer disallows an applicant for registration pursuant to sub-regulation (8), he or she shall record his or her reasons for the disallowance , and statement of his or her reasons shall be set out in the notice of disallowance.
(10) A person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Registration Officer may, within seven days from the date of the notice of disallowance, deliver to the Registration Officer a statement of appeal in Form 1E set out in the Schedule, to be heard by the Chief Registration Officer within a period not exceeding seven days.
(11) The Registration Officer must maintain a record at the Electoral Office showing the names, addresses of every applicant whose application for registration and other particulars of every applicant whose application for registration has been disallowed by him or her.
(12) Once an application has been approved by a registration Officer, the Officer shall capture the photograph of applicant and shall cause and same to be stored in the electronic database together with the applicant’s details.
(13) A Registration Officer shall affix an identification number to the relevant application form provided to the applicant pursuant to sub-regulation (2) and the National Registration Record in Form 2A set out in the Schedule, and such record maintained in an electronic form by the Chief Registration Officer is a valid record under these regulations.
(14) If the Registration Officer approves the application he or she shall sign the Certificate of Regulation in Form 2 set out in the Schedule and shall deliver one copy to the applicant and keep the other copy for his or her records at the Electoral Office.
(15) Regulation of any person is complete when the applicant shall have received the signed Certificate of Registration referred to in sub-regulation (14) and has been assigned a national identification card which has been generated for that person in accordance with the provisions of Part ll of these Regulations.
(16) Agents of political parties or candidates shall be entitled to inspect the Certificate of Registration.
In the next article, we shall discuss how one can confirm one’s registration, the Form upon which voters names are placed and the procedure for the issuance of national identification cards.
