Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts


ELECTORAL REFORM CONSULTATIONS BEGIN TODAY IN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS

Basseterre, St. Kitts (September 4, 2006): The St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) begins its consultations on St. Kitts and Nevis, today Monday, September 4, 2006.

Consultations will also be held in Anguilla; Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands; St. Maarten; St. Croix and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands; London, Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham in the United Kingdom; Toronto, Canada; and New York, Washington, DC, and Miami in the United States, where many Nationals abroad who come home to visit their family and friends - and to vote - reside. (The Consultations Schedule for St. Maarten, Anguilla, and the BVI is enclosed below.)

ERCC Chairman Mr. Elvis Newton says the mandate of the commiittee is to facilitate the electoral reform process.

He makes it clear that the committee will not attempt to instigate a particular outcome or tone of discussions. “We want the views and the concerns to come from persons, and our task is really to ensure that we accurately record the views and the concerns of those persons as opposed to us imposing our own views.”

In accordance with its mandate, the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee will have consultations whose format encourages healthy discussion. There will thus be ground rules prohibiting slander and name-calling, but free discussion of issues presented in the St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform White Paper and the Report of the Commonwealth Assessment Mission on Electoral Reform in St. Kitts and Nevis will be welcome. (Those documents are available on www.newelectoralframework.gov.kn in the References section.) The ERCC will invite people to address their points of view to the Chair. Attendees will be expected to raise their hands to signal their intention to speak, and a committee member will indicate to them when they can do so.

In preparation for the discussions, stakeholders are invited to think about the following critical areas of concern, in addition to any other:
a. Voter qualification
b. The enumeration/voter registration process
c. Campaigning, including financing
d. The conduct of the elections to include:
i. The functioning of the electoral commission and supervisor of elections and
ii. The determination of electoral boundaries and constituencies
e. The National Assembly Election Act
f. The Nevis Island Election Act.

All seven committee members - Mr. Newton (Chairman), Mr. Wattley, Mr. Clement “Bouncin” Williams, Mr. Clifford Thomas, Mr. Elvin Bailey, Mr. Clive Bacchus, and Ms. Mutryce Williams - will not attend every consultation because some of the public meetings are scheduled to run at the same time throughout the Federation. However, there will be at least three committee members at each consultation. For instance, between 7:30p.m. and 9:30p.m. on September 7 there will be two meetings: one consultation for Challengers, Boyd’s, and West Farm to be facilitated by Mr. Newton, Mr. Williams, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Bailey at Bronte Welch primary school, and the other consultation for Dieppe Bay and Parson’s to be facilitated by Ms. Williams, Mr. Bacchus, and Mr. Wattley at Dieppe Bay primary school.

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis said it launched the National Electoral Reform Exercise in order to achieve electoral reform with the participation of a wide cross-section of people. It is inviting people to present their concerns and suggestions for an improved system to the ERCC at consultations [dates are found in the Consultations Calendar on www.newelectoralframework.gov.kn].Consultations will last for at least two hours. The ERCC intends to give everyone the opportunity to participate during the meetings. However, if this goal cannot be achieved because of time constraints, the ERCC shall communicate alternative methods that attendees can use to voice their opinions to the committee. These alternatives include regular mail [National Electoral Reform Secretariat, Former Development Bank Building, Church Street, Basseterre, St. Kitts] and e-mail [erccsubmissions@gov.kn].

When consultations wrap up on October 13, the Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) will compile its findings and submit a report to the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC), spelling out the main issues and recommendations that the public raised. The National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC), whose life span is estimated at four weeks, will determine whether the ERCC report is a practical response to the issues of concern.

Moreover, the NAERBC will prepare its own report for submission to another committee, the Parliamentary Constitutional & Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (PCERBC), on how best to execute the proposed reforms in order to achieve a legally reformed electoral system.

NAERBC membership comprises Mr. Raphael Archibald, MBE (Chairman); a Representative of the St. Kitts Christian Council, Archdeacon Valentine Hodge; Representatives of the St. Kitts and Nevis Evangelical Associations, Rev. Dr. Oldain Charles and Pastor Eversley Pemberton; a Representative of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades & Labour Union, Mr. Stanley Franks; a Representative of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Franklyn Brand; a Representative of the St. Kitts Teachers’ Union, Mr. Clyde Christopher; a Representative of the St. Kitts and Nevis Bar Association, Mrs. Patricia Dublin-Lewis; Director of Youth, Mr. Geoffrey Hanley, and Representatives of Political Parties, Mrs. Eugenie Condor of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party; Mr. Herman Liburd of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP); and Mr. Theodore Hobson of the Concerned Citizens’ Movement (CCM). All political parties with seats in the National Assembly - the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party; NRP; CCM, and the People’s Action Movement (PAM) - had been invited to nominate representatives to the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC).

Parliamentary Constitutional & Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (PCERBC) membership comprises Hon. Sam Condor (Chairman), who serves as the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly; Hon. Dwyer Astaphan; Hon. Delano Bart; Hon. Malcolm Guishard; Hon. Patrice Nisbett, and Hon. Shawn Richards. The PCERBC will advise the Attorney General on the matters that are to be the subject of legislative action by Parliament, according to the St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform White Paper.

It is important for the public in the Federation and Nationals abroad - the stakeholders in this process - to understand the point that matters to be the subject of legislative action will be based on those issues, concerns, and recommendations brought to the fore during the public consultation period.

Mr. Raphael Archibald, Chairman of the National Advisory Electoral Reform and Boundaries Committee (NAERBC) explains the integral role consultations play in the electoral reform process. “What we are doing is through consultation, and consultation is a key word. We want to consult everybody, and democracy - true democracy - is our goal."


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.


Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)