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| Political Leader of PAM Mr. Lindsay F.P. Grant |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, AUGUST 2, 2006 - Fellow citizens, I wish to make a few comments on some of the issues raised by the Prime Minister yesterday both in the House of Parliament and in his Press Conference. I wish to say first of all that the PAM has been conducting an ongoing educational exercise through the medium of town hall meetings. Our second in the series is being held tonight at the Moravian Church School Room in Cayon at 8pm and will be transmitted live on WINNFM. I would first like to encapsulate what we have been advocating:
1. An independent committee in the nature of the Commonwealth to oversee the process of Electoral Reform, so that at its conclusion, no political party years later will be able to cry foul.
2. An enumeration exercise to be able to ascertain the true and correct numbers of voters on the ground before any boundary realignment is made. That is, a revamping of the present list and beginning with a brand new list. Any other way will only lead to unrealistic boundary changes and a piecemeal approach to solving the obvious problem of a bloated and unreal list.
3. Voter Identification with a photograph and fingerprints to ensure an almost foolproof system of identification.
Points of Contention
1. We are not aware of any other Caribbean country that uses a smart card as a means of voter identification. Smart Cards are processor controlled and can be easily manipulated. On the other hand we have a tried and tested system that the world accepts being used in Jamaica and Antigua and which is said to be virtually foolproof. Show us the country in the Caribbean using a smart card.
2. It is not proper for the Prime Minister to be broadcasting what the outcome of the reform process will be without the consultations having begun and without the involvement of the vast majority of citizens: for example, he said that the electoral boundaries will change, without the benefit of the enumeration exercise.
Points from PRESS CONFERENCE
1. Confusion of the Committees large number of committees put in place contrary to the Commonwealth Report
2. (a) We are concerned about the comment on the possibility of General Elections being called before the Electoral
Reform process is completed
(b) The Government has adopted the position that Electoral Reform should come before Constitutional Reform contrary to its view prior to the 2004 poll in which they said they did not have enough time for the process. This is a total change.
3. Ignoring the Commonwealth Report All the recommendations point towards all political parties being involved in the process, the position yesterday identifying Parliamentary parties disenfranchises UNEP and its supporters.
4. Overseas vote The idea of postal voting is ridiculous. A nation as small as St. Kitts-Nevis in which the foreign population is larger than the resident population would result in considerable dilution of the vote of those living at home.
