Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts


BVI PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS WRAP UP TONIGHT, LOW TURN-OUT LAST NIGHT

Tortola, BVI (September 10, 2006): Despite promoting its public consultations in Virgin Gorda via contacts at radio stations and newspapers as well as through St. Kitts-Nevis Nationals in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) had a very low turn-out at the Ashford Waters Community Centre last night.

Fewer than 10 people came to forward their recommendations for a new electoral system to ERCC members, Elvin Bailey, Douglas Wattley, and Clement “Bouncin” Williams.

“In this new era, people don’t listen radio,” asserted Samuel McSheene, an attendee originally from Cayon, St. Kitts. “It will be beneficial for you to send someone out and get in the church halls for this kind of process.”

But Earrill Sargeant, originally from Basseterre, St. Kitts, attributed the poor attendance to what he claims is St. Kitts-Nevis politicians’ inveterate neglect of Kittitian and Nevisian Nationals in Virgin Gorda [est. pop. 3,390, BVI Development Planning Unit estimates].

“It seems as though only when there are serious issues, committees or the parties from St. Kitts reach to Virgin Gorda,” Mr. Sargeant said at the meeting. “It’s a sad thing. This thing needs follow-up. You all will come now and won’t come back for another five years.”

He added, “If you all come more regular, people would come out and give their views...But if you all are going to come now and don’t come back at all, it doesn’t work. It’s the same thing with the politicians. When it’s elections, they come around one time, ‘Who gonna vote? Who gonna vote?’ and then they’re gone.”

This observation coupled with one made by a Kittitian by marriage, Joann Vanterpool Hodge of Virgin Gorda, paints the picture of a seemingly low morale on the part of some St. Kitts-Nevis Nationals when it comes to politicians and the political system.

Mrs. Vanterpool Hodge, who lived in St. Kitts for three and a half years, says she became a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis in November 1996. She has not registered to vote, she says. “I love the electoral process and having the right to vote, but to me I wouldn’t vote in St. Kitts. To me, the people in the country live too much for politics. Yes, politics is a way of life, but to me it’s destroying the Federation.”

Mrs. Hodge continued her pointed criticism, addressing the fever pitch over politics that she says envelops some Kittitians. “I always say if I could vote in Nevis, I’ll vote in Nevis, but not in St. Kitts, not under any circumstances even though the Constitution may give me the right to do so.”

She added, “It’s a way of life. It goes as far as ‘I can’t go to church because a PAM person is preaching. I can’t go to church because a Labour person is preaching.’ I’m not telling you this by hearsay, I experienced it for myself. Experience is the key.”

St. Kitts-Nevis Nationals in the BVI don’t seem to have a reliable head count of Kittitians and Nevisians in Virgin Gorda, but it is clear that many more could have attended last night. In an interview this afternoon, Mr. Sargeant’s wife, Jacqueline, said that she and her husband know about 20 people from St. Kitts and Nevis - many of them from Cayon - who live in the vicinity of their house in The Valley.

Among the issues discussed at the public consultation was the matter of deceased electors on the voters’ list. One recommendation was that the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages should liaise with the Electoral Office. Another recommendation was that continuous registration should remain in effect, but not on Election Day. It was unanimous that there should be a “totally new” voters’ list to “start afresh”.

The ERCC delegation returned to Tortola last night after the Virgin Gorda meeting. They will wrap up the BVI consultations this evening with a meeting at 5p.m. The venue is the hotel Maria’s By the Sea.

This morning, ERCC member Elvin Bailey; Press Officer for the Electoral Reform Secretariat, Valencia Grant, and Executive Secretary for the Secretariat, Agnes Farrell attended the Road Town Methodist Church.

During the Welcome Segment, Mr. Bailey spoke briefly about the purpose of their visit to the BVI, and requested permission from the preacher, Rev. Yvonne Nibbs-Flores, to address the congregation after the service. He invited the Nationals there - about 15 people (including Merritt Herbert, owner of ZBVI Radio and VON Radio in Nevis), some with children, grandchildren, and spouses born elsewhere - to bring their families with them this evening.

“This is not politicking. This is not campaigning. This is about nation-building and hearing from you about what you think of the electoral process,” said Mr. Bailey.



Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)