Basseterre, St.Kitts (Team UNITY Communications) -- Team UNITY Candidate for Central Basseterre Jonel Powell has declared that “Illegally registered Foreign Students will not be allowed to vote in Central Basseterre!”. This declaration came as Powell released a number of photos of foreign students who have all registered to vote in the upcoming elections.
The dynamic young Attorney has also sought the intervention of the court to have the names of these students removed as according to the law These students, like students from the United States or any other country that is not a member of the Commonwealth are here in St. Kitts and Nevis subject to a permit, the equivalent of a student visa.
By virtue of their student visa, they are not considered to be resident under the Immigration Act. The Immigration Act provides for 4 classes of residents:
(a) permanent residents; (b) annual residents; (c) temporary residents; (d) work permit holder residents. The students fall under the category of Permitted Entrants under the Act. More specifically, under Paragraph 2 of Part I of the Second Schedule to the Immigration Act as:
“Persons entering Saint Christopher and Nevis to attend as students at (a) an educational or training institution approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act; or (b) a university or college authorised by law to confer degrees or to offer training in holy orders.”
Powell issued a statement regarding the issue which read in part:
“When our Kittitian and Nevisian students go off to study at the University of the West Indies or institutions on North America and Europe, we are not eligible to register to vote for the same reasons. We are permitted to stay in those countries subject to student visas or their equivalent for the purpose of study and are not considered to be resident. For these same principles, we cannot and do not consider locals studying abroad as a part of the phenomenon that is overseas voters.
The result of this is the Electoral Office has incorrectly and illegally been allowing these non-residents and permitted entrants to be registered to vote under the guise that they are Commonwealth Citizens.
To add insults to injury, many of these students are either not aware that they have been registered to vote, or are coerced to register upon being granted their student visas. Even if the relevant authorities were misguided as to the law as it relates to these Commonwealth Citizens, are we to believe that they were also misguided as to the 12 month residency requirement?
The circus that was our electoral reform, has only unearthed more tricks and created more avenues for corrupt practices.” Powell released via social media the names and photos of a number of foreign students who have been on the island for and have registered most within just the last few months.
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