BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE time it takes for winners of General Elections to be announced is expected to be dramatically reduced, thanks to the recent passage of the National Assembly Elections Bill 2013.
The Bill was passed yesterday (July 17) following brief input by the Members on the Government Benches.
The mover of the Bill and Minister of Elections – Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas – explained to the Legislative body that the Bill is to amend the National Assembly Elections Act Chapter 2.01.
The Act stipulates that the Returning Officers are solely responsible for counting the ballots for the Constituency for which they are responsible.
The amendment – however – provides for the Returning Officer for any particular constituency to designate Presiding Officers to count the ballots.
“… currently, the Returning Officer is the person who is in charge of the counting process. The effect of this…is that the counting process is slowed down. Thus what the Bill is seeking to achieve is an expedition in the counting process by empowering the Returning Officer to designate a Presiding Officer to play the role of the Returning Officer in the counting process.”
He expressed that the Bill is his responsible government’s reaction to calls for a smoother and efficient electoral process.
Dr. Douglas said it would also serve to reduce the agony which some candidates have experienced having to wait until – in some cases – the early morning hours of the following day to find out if they were victorious at the polls.
In past elections, the casting of ballots would have begun at 6:00 a.m. on a particular day and – in some cases – 24 hours would have elapsed before the full result of the elections would have been known.
Attorney General the Hon. Jason Hamilton lent his support to the Bill and clarified that unlike what has been promulgated by a specific individual, via the social media, it does not provide for the polls to remain open even after the traditional closing time, 6:00 p.m.
