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  • 1 year ago
The Elections and Boundaries Commission says that it received legal advice that requiring "applicants for the position of Returning Officer to declare whether they are a member of a political party" is "both advisable and lawful."

The EBC also says that legal opinion "distinguishes between declaring whether one is a member of a political party and disclosing voting
preferences, which is protected by the principle of secret ballot."

However, the EBC says quote, "recent media reports suggesting that the EBC is asking Returning Officers to declare their political allegiance are misleading and inaccurate."

Juhel Browne reports.
Transcript
00:00Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley did not mince his words with regard to comments
00:04attributed to the Elections and Boundaries Commission Chairman Mark Ram
00:08Kerrissing in Wednesday's Express newspaper regarding the next general
00:13election due in 2025. In a post on his Facebook page, Dr. Rowley said the
00:18position of the EBC to question EBC staff about their vote is absolutely
00:23unacceptable. The words absolutely unacceptable were typed in bold letters.
00:28Dr. Rowley said the vote in this country is secret and no person in public
00:34employment must be forced to reveal how he or she voted or intends to vote. The
00:40Prime Minister then declared returning officers are not to comply with what he
00:45called this strange and disturbing development at the EBC. The political
00:50leader of the PNM said his party has not been consulted on this matter and is
00:55resolutely opposed to what he called this unnecessary and possible illegal
01:01action. The Prime Minister then posed the question, where did this come from? The
01:06Express newspaper reported that opposition leader Kamala Prasad
01:09Bissessa, the political leader of the UNC, said she needs to have more
01:13information on the context and the statement made by the EBC chairman. The
01:18Express also reported that the opposition leader said she would like to
01:22see the legal opinion provided to the EBC and that of chief importance is the
01:27need for independent international observers. The political leader of the
01:32National Transformation Alliance, Guy Griffith, expressed deep concern and said
01:37that demanding that returning officers disclose their political allegiances not
01:42only infringes upon these rights but also sets a dangerous precedent that
01:48could discourage qualified individuals from participating in the management and
01:52supervision of the electoral process. Mr. Griffith, a former police commissioner,
01:58also said that political affiliation does not automatically equate to bias.
02:03Mr. Griffith subsequently issued another statement via voice note expressing his
02:08concerns about the Prime Minister's statement. The EBC issued a statement on
02:14Wednesday. It said that during a workshop on enhancing ethical and
02:18effective coverage on Tuesday, EBC chairman Ram Kherisingh addressed a
02:23concern about potential political affiliations of returning officers. The
02:28EBC said it had received allegations from various political parties about
02:33returning officers being members of political parties. The EBC explained that
02:39to address these concerns and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process
02:44the Commission sought legal advice on requiring applicants for the position of
02:48returning officer to declare whether they are a member of a political party.
02:52The EBC said that legal opinion confirmed that such an inquiry is both
02:57advisable and lawful but distinguishes between declaring whether one is a
03:03member of a political party and disclosing voting preferences which is
03:08protected by the principle of secret ballot. The EBC said membership in a
03:13political party implies a level of allegiance or affiliation that could
03:18potentially create the perception of bias or apparent bias. The EBC further
03:23said that requiring applicants to declare their membership is a proactive
03:27step to mitigate potential conflicts of interest and maintain public confidence
03:32in the electoral system. However, the EBC said that its quote would like to
03:37clarify that recent media reports suggesting that the EBC is asking
03:42returning officers to declare their political allegiance are misleading and
03:47inaccurate unquote. The EBC said the focus remains on ensuring that the
03:53electoral process is free, fair and credible.
03:56Jule Brown, TV6 News
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