Former Speaker accuses opposition of campaign to disenfranchise voters

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, AUGUST 25TH 2009 (CUOPM) – Former Speaker of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly, Ms. Marcella Liburd is praising the government Labour Party for putting a new electoral registration system in place to ensure free and fair elections.
 
Speaking at a public meeting at Downing Street in Sandy Point, Ms. Liburd accused the opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) of embarking on a campaign to disenfranchise voters of the twin-island Federation and has called for vigilance.
 
“The right to vote is a fundamental right. There is a move in this country by the opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) to disenfranchise persons. We have to be vigilant and we must not allow PAM to take away people’s rights to vote,” said Liburd, a former senator in the law making body.
 
She noted with interest that although the Political Leader of the People’s Action Movement, Mr. Lindsay Grant is declaring that he has already won the upcoming elections and boasting that he will be the next Prime Minister, “they are on a campaign to disenfranchise persons in selected constituencies. They are there trying to take away people’s right to vote.”
 
“He (Grant) says he has already won in  #4. Yet, Lindsay Grant is trying to take the names of 60 persons off the Voters’ List and in #8, Eugene Hamilton, is also trying to get people’s names off,” said Liburd, the Labour Party’s Central Basseterre candidate.
 
Ms. Liburd pointed out that when she was an Agent for the St. Kitts- Nevis Labour Party under the PAM Administration of former Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Dr. Kennedy Simmonds, the Registration Officers indicated from the outset at hearings for objections, that nobody name is coming off the list.
 
“You could not even get the names of dead persons off under PAM. Since this Labour Government has taken office, we have revamped that system following consultations on the electoral reform process, so that so that a dead person’s name can now be removed and nobody’s name is down twice. We have revamped that system. We have cleaned up the system. Now that we have cleaned up the system and have a brand new Voters’ List, Hamilton, Grant and PAM are trying their best to disenfranchise people. We have to be vigilant and must not allow them to disenfranchise persons,” said Liburd.
 
She informed the large crowd that at a recent hearing of objections in Old Road, the Registration Officer gave his findings in some cases.
 
“Mr. Grant objected to someone’s name. When the registration officer did his research he found there were two persons by that name with just a little difference in the spelling of the first name. Lindsey Grant gave evidence to why the person name should come off the list. After the evidence was given, it was discovered that it does not apply to the person who he is objecting to. This is to show you that they just object willy nilly,” said Ms. Liburd.
 
She said that the new system of registration has resulted in the proper names of persons going on the list.
 
“Under the old system instituted by PAM, you just had to walk into the Electoral Office and give them your name. Some people gave the names that they are known by in the community, which were totally different from the names on their birth certificates. Under the new system instituted by your Labour Government as a result of the electoral reform process, a person registering or confirming had to carry a valid photo ID, birth certificate, driver license or passport. People now realised that the names they had on the voters list are completely different from the one on their birth certificate, passport or social security card,” said Liburd, a former national netballer.
 
Continuous voter registration was introduced in April 1984 prior to the general elections in June that year without a proper system in place for the removal of persons from the list including those who have died.
 
Following the reconfirmation process and registration of new voters, the new Voters List as at December 2008 contained 28,500 registered persons compared to 38,865 in the 2004 general elections. Registered voters are now issued with a National Identification Card which carries the name of the voter, address, date of birth, photo, occupation, residential status, date of issuance and expiration date.
 
In June 2006, the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly approved the road map to electoral reform and the process was officially launched in August of that year
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Extensive national consultations were held in the Federation, Anguilla, St. Maarten, the United States Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom and following several committee meetings, the necessary legislation was passed in the National Assembly.