Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts


YOUNG PROFESSIONALS DISCUSS ELECTORAL REFORM ISSUES

Basseterre, St. Kitts (September 13, 2006): Nearly 30 young professionals met for more than three hours this afternoon at the Sugar Bay Club in the Frigate Bay resort area.

Among them were five newly minted male doctors, as well as a female civil engineer, a female marketer, a female psychologist, a female sociologist, and a female social planner. Director of Youth, Geoffrey Hanley; broadcast and print journalists, and people who work with at-risk youths were also there.

It was an impressive gathering, but - considering the purpose of the forum - even more so was the caliber of their ideas and interchange on electoral reform. They came upon the invitation of Mutryce Williams, an Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) member, and left with a firmer grasp of the issues.

The young people, who also included a few students from the Basseterre High School, divided into five groups to brainstorm on an assigned topic. Afterwards, each group designated a speaker to share their findings with everyone who in turn could ask questions for clarification, and express their own concerns and recommendations.

Group One tackled voter registration. This group decided, among other things, that a new voters’ list is “absolutely necessary”; it should be computerized, and voter registration should be continuous, with a cut-off period just before elections so that all necessary information can be processed. The group members also felt that voters should present proper identification when registering to vote, and - to them - the best form of identification would be a passport. They suggested thorough background checks for people who only show birth certificates at registration. Another suggestion was that the Electoral Office would have to liaise with the Office of the Registrar-General in order to obtain updated vital statistics records.

Group Two debated voter identification. Jéneve Mills, who works with at-risk youths, explained that his group assessed the pros and cons of fingerprinting. He said, “Crime and violence is on the increase in St. Kitts and Nevis, and you can use this [fingerprinting] afterwards to basically get the crime situation under control. If somebody steals something or murders somebody and the only evidence you have is a fingerprint then you could go back to a database and identify the individual.”

Mr. Mills acknowledged that, “People may not want to go and register to vote because of the whole [fingerprinting] process. After the elections, they [law enforcement agencies] are going to be using this information in the database to track them down as criminals,” that is, those people who have committed crimes.

Group Two also discussed the features that a voters’ identification card ought to have. The group members recommended that full names and initials be placed on the card, as well as a photograph, the elector’s address, date of birth, signature, and social security number. “It should be mandatory that every individual in St. Kitts who is registered has a social security number, whether he or she is working.” They also said the card should be machine readable, which means capable of being read by a computer.

Group Three focused on overseas voting. The group concluded that St. Kitts and Nevis Nationals abroad should continue to vote in the Federation. “While we were consulting amongst each other,” said Trevaugh Browne, the spokesperson for the group, “we came across two major points: one, it’s your birthright and two, you may still be contributing to the development of the country, such as having land, shares, a bank book...”

Group Four examined the code of conduct during elections. Michelina Charles-Mills, the group’s speaker said, “We came to a consensus that it was extremely poor. Some of the points we looked at was the manner in which behaviour is instigated on the podium. This needs to be amended, the manner in which they [politicians] speak to one another in front of us.”

Group Five considered the realignment of the boundaries. The speaker Larry Vaughn said, “Recommendations were to leave the seats as is, or increase the number of seats but make sure that there is equity in the number of voters once we have a re-registration, that geography is looked at, that as much as is possible equal number of areas compile one constituency.”

Youth groups represented this afternoon include the St. Kitts National Youth Parliament Association (SKNYPA); UNESCO Youth PATH (Poverty Alleviation through Tourism and Heritage); Leo Club; Cuban Students’ Association; Liamuiga Youth Legacy Awards Association; Molyneux Youth Association, and Project Viola, an association for teenage mothers.

The Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) intends to hold a similar consultation session with young people in Nevis next week.



Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)