The names of thirty-two Anguillians, including students, living abroad were registered to vote in the upcoming 2020 elections in Anguilla. However, they were objected to by the Anguilla Progressive Movement’s candidates.
Their claim was that the persons were not resident in Anguilla within the period specified by the Elections Act. The objections were heard by the Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Rodney Rey, who dismissed the matter – rather than appearing to disfranchise persons who, in the past, would have been allowed to vote. The issue was eventually taken to the High Court Judge who recently upheld the objections.
The issue was commented on by Premier Victor Banks at a public meeting held by the Anguilla United Front on the Island Harbour Pond Fill on Saturday, June 13.
Carefully choosing his words, Premier Banks said: “Just a few days ago the High Court ruled to remove a number of Anguillians from the voters’ list because they were not meeting the ordinary resident requirement to be on the voters’ list. Thirty-two Anguillians were removed from the voters’ list.
“Don’t get me wrong. It is a ruling of the Court that is based on the Judge’s interpretation of the law and we rely on judges to interpret the law and make decisions for us. So, as a consequence, for me that is not the issue. But the issue for me is the fact that a number of candidates caused that ruling to become necessary by objecting to persons called Anguillians from the voters’ list on the basis that they were not ordinary resident on Anguilla or, as they put it, living in Anguilla. They caused the Judge to have the opportunity to make that ruling because when they objected first to the voters’ list their objections were over-ruled; and then they aggressively took the matter to the High Court where their objections were upheld on the basis of law.
“For me, this is an historic matter. Never in the history of Anguilla have 32 persons been removed from the voters’ list by a Judge based on the fact that persons running for office thought it fit to remove or ask for the removal of Anguillians from the voters’ list. In my forty years of politics I have never objected to a single voter being on the voters’ list based on residence.
“I believe that an Anguillian is an Anguillian wherever he or she is. And even though I too was aware of the law which deals with the issues of residence, I believe in my heart, morally, that because Anguillians had to travel to all parts of the world to make a living; to have their education; to born their children; to seek medical attention and various numbers of things – that it is important that such a historic aspect of our lives…be a part of the decision as to whether or not we should be allowed to vote in an election. Most of us who have lived overseas, and those who are living overseas today, have an interest in seeing that things go right in Anguilla. This is because we have a vested interest here not only in terms of heritage, but also because we own property/businesses in Anguilla, and have a right to put a government in place that we believe can represent our interest whatever part of the world we are.
“It seems to me that those members of the Anguilla Progressive Movement were so determined that Anguillians, they believe do not support them, but are on the voters list, that they went to all ends to make sure they were removed. And why do I say this? I am not saying this because the law says that Anguillians who are not ordinary resident in Anguilla should not be on the voters’ list. I am saying this because we all recognized, over the years, that the actual law is very unclear and could be interpreted in so many ways. In some instances we in Anguilla believe that because of the conventions we have established over the years, and the practice we have exercised in voters’ lists, that Anguillians [coming in] have the right to vote. This is something that we hold dear – extending the right to vote to our people wherever they are.
“I do not believe that the people of the Anguilla Progressive Movement are against that convention or practice. I simply believe that they believe that those persons on the voters’ list who do not support them should not be allowed to vote. And why do I say this? I say this because the very persons who asked for persons within the community who live overseas to be removed from the voters’ list are the very persons who also have families, who live overseas, on the voters’ list, and have not asked for them to be taken off. So what it boils down to is a whole lot of hypocrisy that they don’t want anybody on the voters’ list to vote against them.”
