Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts



ST. KITTS-NEVIS NATIONALS LIVING IN THE BVI DISCUSS THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE

Tortola, BVI (September 9, 2006): “Should they?”, or “Shouldn’t they?,” vote that is. These are but two questions surrounding the franchise that the Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis has endowed its Nationals living elsewhere with - and their foreign-born offspring and spouses - making for passionate debate among Kittitians and Nevisians in the Federation and abroad.

This right to register to vote - and the resultant fight over it - infuses these weekend consultations with heightened interest.

Thus although attendees of the first Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) public consultation in Tortola made substantive points on redistricting; the voters’ list; the voter registration process, and fixing elections dates and term limits, what they said about overseas Nationals’ right to vote was among the most intriguing, even if the conclusion was somewhat predictable. The majority view of the people at the first consultation in Tortola was that overseas citizens should be allowed to participate in elections.

George Henry originally from Saddler’s Village in St. Kitts: My belief really is that anybody who is a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis should be able to go home and vote at any time without having to be residing in the territory for any [specified] time, and I say that because I’ve been living here for a long time; could not vote, still cannot vote. If I can’t vote here and I can’t vote home then who am I? I believe anybody should be able to vote where they were born at any given time. It’s a fundamental right for you to decide how, if not you, how your family, your friends and who you really care about, how they live. It determines the direction in which you want your country to go, and if you can’t make that decision where you were born and you can’t make it where you are living then you might as well be dead.

Alexis Charles originally from Cayon, St. Kitts: My view is that persons ought to be able to exercise that franchise if they so desire, but what we need to get away from is where the various political parties would send tickets en masse to Tortola, and any person who’ll just join the plane ride and go up to St. Kitts and Nevis and take part in election without even having an appreciation for what is taking place in the Federation. To me what ought to happen is if you are so interested you ought to put yourself in a position where you understand what is happening in St. Kitts, and you of your own [volition] go and make an informed decision and vote for the party of your choice or the candidate of your choice, as opposed to someone sending 50 tickets and someone coming around and saying, ‘Well, boy we got 50 tickets, you know. The plane is going up tomorrow. Can you make it? Jump on board.' That is something that probably ought to be done away with.

...

Later in the session, ERCC member Elvin Bailey asked, “Mr. Charles, just to make sure I understand, in your first presentation - if I understood it correctly - you support the overseas
vote[r] but you just don’t want somebody giving him a free ticket.”

Mr. Charles remarked, “That is one point, and the overseas vote should be extended to those persons who display sufficient interest in the country.”

Mr. Bailey responded, “So you support the overseas vote with conditions?”

Charles: Yes.

Bailey: And the condition is to display interest. Any definition of interest?

Charles: Ownership of property in the country, the sending of remittances to relatives, frequent visits.

Bailey: The Electoral Office will be required to keep a tab of these things in order to keep the registration alive?

Charles: Well, there could be some mechanisms where it is obligatory on the voter to present themselves periodically to the Electoral Office to demonstrate that they have that interest still.

...

Henry: I appreciate what my friend here is saying but I’m going to just strengthen my point. If I’m outside as a citizen of St. Kitts-Nevis and I can afford to buy a ticket to go home and vote, I think that’s good enough.

Theodore Skeete originally from Newcastle, Nevis spoke after Mr. Henry. “I am not particularly impressed with some of the conditions delineated to justify that if you are a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis living away for 40 years you should meet those requirements to be able to vote." He reiterated, "I am not impressed," adding that, "I shall now speak on that. The privilege of adult suffrage accorded to the individual citizen of a country should not be negated by subjective views." Mr. Skeete continued, "I must declare my remittances, the knowledge of my sending remittances to my family, to make me qualified to vote in my country!? Rubbish!”

“Now, make that into the form of a statement, which we can use,” ERCC member Douglas Wattley advised.

Skeete: Yes, thank you very much. As a citizen of St. Kitts-Nevis, that citizen should not be required to declare his responsibility - or not - of sending home remittances to his relatives. It is not in my view a necessary variable. There is an element of reason when it comes to property, but that does not mean that if I am not in a position to establish property ownership in my country I should be deprived of voting rights. Also, am I, excuse me, I know I should be speaking in recommendation terms, but bear with me. Am I to understand that if some party is in power and they send me a ticket to come home to vote, am I compelled to vote for them?”

“No,” some audience members said.

Mr. Skeete continued, “Well, who knows who I’m going to vote for? Is that a valid argument?”

“Hence...,” Mr. Wattley interjected, prompting him to make a recommendation. The purpose of the public consultations is for a wide crosssection of people to voice their opinions on issues then offer recommendations concerning the matters, so that the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) can forward these concerns and suggestions to the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC).

Mr. Skeete acknowledged Mr. Wattley's advice. "Thank you sir. Thank you."

Wattley: Yeah.

Skeete: Thank you.

Wattley: Sure.

Skeete: Send de ticket dem. A going use them.

Many of the 23 attendees (six women and 17 men) erupted in laughter.

...

In summarizing the main points of the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) meeting, ERCC member Clement “Bouncin” Williams said the 12 people who gave recommendations last night made strong presentations.

After the consultations in Anguilla; St. Maarten; and Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the ERCC will hold meetings in St. Croix and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) between September 15 and 17. The committee will be split in two again because a delegation will travel to the United Kingdom to hold consultations in Birmingham, Leeds, London, and Manchester around that time. Next month Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) members will travel to Toronto, Canada; and New York, Washington, DC, and Miami in the United States for public meetings there.




The Electoral Reform Consultative Committee Consultations Schedule for Friday 8th to Sunday 10th, September 2006 in St. Maarten, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.

St. Maarten – PMI Hall Building
Friday 8th, Sept. 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Saturday 9th, Sept. 10am – 12 noon
ERCC members: Mr. Elvis Newton (Chairman), Mr. Clive Bacchus, Mr. Clifford Thomas, and Ms. Mutryce Williams.

Anguilla – Stoney Ground Primary School Auditorium
Saturday 9th, Sept. 6pm – 9pm
Sunday 10th, Sept. 5pm – 7pm
ERCC members: Mr. Elvis Newton (Chairman), Mr. Clive Bacchus, Mr. Clifford Thomas, and Ms. Mutryce Williams.

British Virgin Islands
Tortola – Maria’s by the Sea
Virgin Gorda – Ashford Waters Community Centre in the Valley
Friday 8th, Sept. 7:30pm – 9:30pm in Tortola
Saturday 9th, Sept. 7:30pm – 9:30pm in Virgin Gorda
Sunday 10th, Sept. 5pm – 7pm in Tortola
ERCC Members: Mr. Elvin Bailey, Mr. Douglas Wattley, and Mr. Clement "Bouncin" Williams. Press Officer, Valencia Grant is accompanying the BVI team to report on proceedings.




Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)