Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts


ERCC CHAIRMAN TALKS ABOUT ISSUES IMPORTANT TO YOUNG PEOPLE, WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT TO THE PROCESS

Basseterre, St. Kitts (October 6, 2006): The following is a transcript of an interview with the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC), Mr. Elvis Newton.

Interview Date: October 2, 2006

Press Officer for the Electoral Reform Secretariat, Valencia Grant: You held private consultations today with high school students. Tell me which high schools you had these consultations with, and why high school students.

ERCC Chairman Elvis Newton: We visited all the high schools on St. Kitts, namely the Basseterre High, Washington Archibald, Cayon, Verchilds, and Sandy Point. Then in the afternoon we visited CFB. Why high schools and the College: because for the simple reason that they’re young persons. The decisions that are made in relation to the reform of any electoral system will affect them. Some persons who are attending institutions, that is, educational institutions are 18 years old and so they are able to vote, and if they are not 18 they will soon be. The process really has to start there so that they become informed about what is happening, and where the weaknesses in order for us to get their views. Quite frankly some of the views are very, very, very instructive, that is, the views that we have been hearing from young persons.

VG: What were some of the highlights this morning?

EN: Young people have very strong views about the process of registration. They believe that there needs to be some form of identification. There is also the strong view about the identification of voters. We’re hearing from the young people that perhaps we need to look at an integrated system where you use technology so that the technology that you use will influence what happens in terms of when persons are identified for voting. So they have said that there needs to be a link between what is happening at the Electoral Office and the Civil Registry, that is, the one where we register births, deaths, and marriages. They believe that they should be linked. Interestingly, many of the young persons we hear from and whom we heard from this morning have identified the need to incorporate some kind of fingerprinting. They’re talking about using fingerprinting to avoid fraud in the electoral process. They are saying that lots of information should be included in the card, but that everybody should not have access to that information.

VG: This afternoon, there were some very strong opinions and they were kind of polarizing on three points: one, the fingerprinting issue, the second was whether or not Nationals should retain the right to vote, and the third one was whether those Nationals abroad should have a residency requirement. Can you just touch on what came out?

EN: Yes, you are correct. The young persons whom I spoke to – and incidentally there were two other colleagues at the College who discussed with two other groups, namely that from the Hospitality Section and one from the Tech Voc. But as you said, the students from the Arts & Sciences had very strong views on the matter of locals living abroad coming back home to vote. They are of the opinion that there should be some residency period. We heard this afternoon five years. We have heard six months. We have heard two years. So that is one issue. There’s also the matter of what should happen with our overseas Nationals and their registration. They believe very strongly that they ought to come back home to register, and that the state ought not to pay for them to return, neither to vote nor to register but if they are interested they should return to vote and to participate in the process. The fingerprinting, yes, they seem to be suggesting that it would reduce fraud in the electoral process and that it could be done in such a way that not everybody has access to the information. So that is what we have been hearing from the students today.

VG: One gentleman at the end didn’t seem too clear about the boundaries issue. He wanted to hear more. What’s the status with the boundaries issue in the general meetings?

EN: People have very strong views like the young man we heard this afternoon. People are saying that if changes are to be made to the boundaries these changes ought to be made based on the number of persons registered to vote in a particular area and not necessarily on the population of that area. Some persons are of the view also that we ought not to change the boundaries until some work has been done to the voters’ list. So people are suggesting that there needs to be a revamp, a review, or a totally new list in place before any changes are made to the boundaries. But, interestingly, in relation to the boundaries I don’t get the sense that the people are too concerned about that issue, well certainly from what we have been hearing.

VG: At the very end, a young lady expressed skepticism about the recording process and whether or not the recommendations in the report will be implemented. In your meetings with young people generally, has there been that kind of skepticism, or are they optimistic?

EN: People have asked the question, that is, when the report is produced if in fact the recommendations that are incorporated into the report will find their way into any changes in the legislation and in the system, in general. My response has been that our committee was charged with the responsibility of producing the report. We will make our recommendations, and the recommendations will be based on our findings. So I have every confidence that the recommendations that we make will be acted upon. I think that however that the recommendations that we are making must be practical and they must be informed by the current constitutional requirements, and they must be also informed by any legislation in the country. But I have every confidence that the recommendations will be acted upon, once they are very well thought through and once they are practical, and once they are consistent with the requirements of the Constitution.

VG: And you have another meeting coming up at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College with the students. Can you talk about that? Will it be any different from the meetings this afternoon?

EN: On the night of Friday 6, October, we will be meeting with the Debating Society. Ms. Williams, one of the committee members will facilitate that meeting. That meeting will comprise of a smaller group. I think that it would provide Ms. Williams an opportunity to probe some of the comments even more so that we can obtain definite recommendations. But I believe that some of the comments we heard this afternoon and indeed this morning will be repeated at this meeting on Friday.

VG: One last question; the students at the CFB seemed ready, willing, and eager to participate. I was pleasantly surprised in a way because at some of the meetings I have attended it seems as though people come, sit down, and it’s almost as if they come to hear what other people are saying. What was your impression of the students, of the young people?

EN: Well, it was very refreshing. A lot of times there is the myth that young persons are not interested in what is happening, and we also sometimes are misguided about what really interests young persons. But I believe that it’s the way that we present the messages to young people, and this afternoon and indeed for the entire day we have been having very fruitful discussions with the young people. The views that they have been expressing are very strong, very strong views. Some of them I suspect will think more so that they could refine their submissions, but by and large the views that we have been getting have really been very strong views. In some instances, they have been more thought-provoking than what we have been getting from the Town Hall Meetings because sometimes at the Town Hall Meetings, as you have said, it’s dominated by one group of persons. But at the College this afternoon and at the high schools this morning, we heard a wide cross-section of opinions from the students.




Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)