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| St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas addressing the crowd after the traditional Labour Day March on Monday. |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 2ND 2006 - St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas announced Monday the Federal Government is soon to unveil a national electoral reform programme which will lead to a new Voters' List, voter identification and a possible change in boundaries.
In a statement carried live on several radio stations, Dr. Douglas to told thousands of workers, nationals and residents at the end of the traditional Labour Day March that the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party will go into a very important Caucus on Sunday and he will then make an announcement of a series of events which will commence on June 1st 2006.
"We are getting the machinery ready for the next (General) Elections," said Dr. Douglas.
The Prime Minister said that the electoral reform process will create a brand new Voters List "that will not disenfranchise the supporters (of all parties) and voters who are living overseas.'
"They are Kittitians and Nevisians and they must be given the right to vote in their country," said Dr. Douglas.
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| The traditional Labour Day March moving along Cayon Street on Monday. |
He said the electoral reform will result in the issuance of a smart card " voter's identification.
"We will also have based on the report from the Commonwealth Secretariat, a review the boundaries as some of them are too small and some too large," said Prime Minister Douglas.
Observer teams from the Commonwealth and the CARICOM Secretariat at the invitation of the Douglas Administration monitored the October 25th 2004 General Elections and vowed to the integrity of the electoral system.
Both groups however observed shortcomings which political parties were aware of before as a result of the Election Laws enacted in 1984 by the then People's Action Movement (PAM) and which are in operation.
In making several recommendations, the Commonwealth Expert Team suggested the need for Constitutional amendments to facilitate wider consultation especially with major national political parties which may not be represented in Parliament by the Governor General in the appointment of members of the Constituency Boundaries Commission, the Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections and by the Supervisor of Elections in the appointment of election officials to ensure confidence in the system by those involved.
It recommended the need for a comprehensive review of constituency boundaries to reflect balance and fairness in the number of electors; a need for a systematic national registration and enumeration exercise to ensure a reliable and accurate register of electors; the introduction of voter identification technology; the identification of non-resident electors; the regular removal of deceased persons from the register and the requirement that voters (other than those residing overseas at the time of an election) are registered in the constituency of their normal residence.
The Expert Team also recommended that the Commonwealth offers technical assistance to the Government to undertake the national registration and enumeration exercise; a Code to govern media coverage during an election period to ensure balance and fairness in the presentation of issues, parties and candidates.
The Expert Team also suggested the need for the introduction of campaign financing rules to ensure fairness and no undue influence on the outcome by large financiers; a need for a voter education exercise to explain and clarify the current election laws and to identify the issues for reform and recommended that the Commonwealth offers technical assistance to the Government to assist in the processes of identifying key issues and drafting new election laws and regulations to govern elections.
The Team recommended that the Commonwealth should assist in enhancing participation of women in St. Kitts and Nevis politics and that best practices in other Commonwealth countries could be utilised in this regard.
It also said there is a need for strengthening the role of civic organisations in the democratic process and that technical assistance to build capacity in this regard could be sought from organisations such as the Commonwealth Foundation.
