ROAD TOWN, Tortola, February 26, 2011 - The RG- Benn answered that “it is a big problem and both the Supervisor of Elections and herself will be working together to obtain a list of all persons who are eligible to vote”. Mrs. Benn reiterated that the Belonger card is only an ID card that is laminated. In addition, she stated that persons have asked if a family member could use a Belonger card issued to someone else.
Meanwhile, Territorial Member Honourable Irene Penn-O’Neal stated at the same SFC meeting that after hearing the presentation from the RG, two things struck her: “the forging of Belonger cards and visas and the repatriation of passports to the UK.” Belonger cards are used in the Virgin Islands as a form of identification to register to vote.
Territorial Member Honourable Keith L. Flax stated that he is “concerned about individuals living in this country who may be able to vote but not legitimately”. If they could find the money to curtail that sought of activity he is all for it, the first term elected member told the committee.
Mrs. Benn was requesting new monies at the 2010 SFC meeting to address this issue. However, the Financial Secretary (FS) Neil Smith stated that in his opinion that the Deputy Governor’s Office under which the Civil Registry and Passport Office falls “has over $30 million dollars at their disposal and he believes that if the budgets are reviewed they could find the monies needed for the initiatives. Once this is done, then further discussions could be carried out about the new initiative,” according to the report made public earlier this year.
The issue of fake IDs that could lead to fake voters, remains a concern for elected members of the Virgin Islands’ Parliament. Territorial Member Honourable Vernon E. Malone said it has been brought to the attention of the Members of the House of Assembly, that there are fraudulent ID cards circulating in the Territory and in his view “it is a serious matter”. He further stated that it is up to them as a body to conduct inquiries and bring criminal prosecution against persons found with fraudulent IDs.
The Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Andrew A. Fahie stated that if the FS recommends the Permanent Secretary in the Deputy Governor’s Office to find the monies to pay for the initiative that the Registrar General proposed, the transfer must be done before the SFC meetings are concluded.
Virgin Islands (VI) residents are to go to the polls to elect 13 members to the House of Assembly for a four- year term by November of this year. Under the election law, residents can challenge before the election supervisor or the courts, names that appear on the voters’ registration list that they do not believe fits the criteria to vote, before the election.
Residents can also challenge whether some persons/candidates are illegible to run for office as there has been some controversies already about whether three candidates, two already announced, are illegible to run in the general elections following the 2007 Constitutional Order of the VI.
Article taken from Virgin Islands News Online - http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com
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