As reported on the front page, Friday, November 6, is the final day for the registration of all persons qualified and desirous to vote in the general election in Anguilla constitutionally due in the first quarter of next year. This concluding date is coming after a long series of appeals from the Supervisor of Elections and the Registration Office in the James Ronald Webster Building. There will be no excuse by any qualified person wishing to vote that his or her name has been omitted from the final List of Voters which will be in circulation in December.

There have been complaints, perhaps among all parties and independent candidates, that a number of names registered for the previous general election are not now recorded on the preliminary lists for the 2010 election. Under the new continuous registration system, there are the usual opportunities to register and for all eligible persons to do so where the enumerators may not have been in a position to complete the process. There is absolutely no reason to make this an issue when any person can simply go to the Registration Office with the correct documentation and register his or her name or do so through a friend etc, in the appropriate electoral district.

There is a concern that one of the main reasons for the exclusion of names from the lists is due to the fact that, for reasons best known to themselves, a number of persons, apathetic to voting, have openly expressed their desire to stay away from the polling stations. This may be their democratic right to choose a course or action in life to their own liking. It is, however, certainly not a responsible or civic thing to do especially when so much is at stake for them to be intelligent electors of a Government which will have the desired leadership abilities needed in Anguilla at this critical juncture in our history.

There are also complaints by some candidates that there are names of persons who should not be on the Voters’ List in particular constituencies. There is a remedy for this through the objection process which is there for anybody to take advantage of, if there is a case to pursue. In too many instances it has been found over the years that some political aspirants have sat down and allowed registrations which they should have questioned, but only refer to them when the time for objection has slipped away. That is just as irresponsible as those unqualified persons who registered when they knowingly should not. Of course there are penalties for false registration which all persons should avoid. The new voter registration process is designed to prevent loopholes in the system, while guaranteeing the voting rights of every person.

What is done now, can avoid unnecessary difficulties later. We certainly do not want to see persons turning up to the polling stations only to find that they were not registered – a situation in which they would have themselves to blame. We also do not want to see any candidate seeking legal claim regarding the election process to jeopardise the results of the polling or otherwise negatively impact the process of governance after the voting. Now is the time to register to vote and now is the time for objections, questions and submissions by candidates or voters. As the Bible reminds us, “now is the accepted time.”

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

World News