Supervisor of Elections, Mr. Rodney Rey, says all Anguillians can be proud that “democracy is alive and well” on their island. He made the remark in his just-released and comprehensive report on the June 29 General Elections.
The report was mandated by Section 69 (5) of the Elections Act, 2019, as amended. Writing in his conclusion to the report, he continued: “The General Elections were free and fair and without violence and for this we must thank God and the electorate. The few problems encountered can be resolved if and when the recommendations made are implemented. Thanks to all and may Anguilla ever remain ‘proud, strong and free,’”
Mr. Rey, a retired Principal of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, and a former Permanent Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, was appointed earlier this year to replace Ms. Aurjul Wilson, as Supervisor of Elections following her resignation.
Known for his attention to detail, leadership and his ingenuity, Mr. Rey, who served in the past as a Returning Officer, was quickly able to take control of the Central Electoral Office and to acquaint himself with the already tested electronic voting and tabulating system. On occasions he credited his predecessor for her foundation work – and his Deputy Supervisor, Mrs. Maria Reid, for her valuable assistance.
In his 29-page Elections Report, Mr. Rey stated that there were 32 candidates – seven each in the district elections -representing the Anguilla United Front (AUF) and the Anguilla Progressive Movement (APM); plus four Island-wide candidates each party; and seven Independent candidates.
A table regarding the distribution of votes by Party/Independents for the Single Member Electoral Districts showed the total votes received as follows:
AUF: 3,170 or 44.1 percent; APM: 3,689 or 51.3 percent; and Independents: 328 or 4.5 percent.
Another table on the distribution of votes by Party/Independent Candidates for the Single Island-wide Electoral District showed the following:
AUF candidates: a total of 9,820 votes or 35.1 percent; APM candidates: a total of 11,971 votes or 42.8 percent; and Independents: 6,181 votes or 22.1 percent.
Meanwhile, in the Advance Polls on Friday, June 26, a total of 744 applied to vote. The voting took place in the House of Assembly; the Magistrate’s Court; the High Court; and the Internal Audit Department.
Mr. Rey reported that following a busy registration period in the first quarter of 2020, the Revised Preliminary List of Registered Voters recorded 11,951 voters. This was a 9.55 percent increase over the 10,909 Registered Voters for the 2015 General Elections.
He pointed out that one negative aspect of the registration process was that, according to legal advice, some persons did not meet all the registration requirements. As a result, the registration of 36 persons was rejected by the High Court.
In his introduction to the report, Mr. Rey wrote: “The 2020 General Elections marked a watershed in the conduct of elections in Anguilla. There were several changes that were designed to make the election process free and fair. The use of modern technology made the process more efficient and effective. The innovations included:
• Enactment of a modern legislative framework namely, the Elections Act, 2019, as amended – and the Elections Registration Regulations, 2020
• Development of an Online Voter Database
• Introduction of Voter Registration Cards
• Introduction of Electronic Poll Books
• Introduction of Advance Polls for certain categories of voters
• Introduction of electronic tabulating of votes using DS200 Electronic Tabulation Machines
• Commissioning of a full service, stand-alone Central Electoral Office
• Conduct of public education sessions
• Introduction of a Single island-wide Electoral District to elect four candidates in addition to the seven Single Member Electoral Districts.”
Mr. Rey added that the election campaign and the preparation for elections by the Central Electoral Office were hampered by the Coronavirus/COVID- 19 Pandemic.
The Supervisor of Elections concluded his report with the following list of recommendations:
? Revise the constitutional provision on ‘residence’ as a requirement for voter registration.
? Amend the details/bio-data for the voter registration card to make it more akin to a national ID Card.
? Amend the Elections Act, 2019 to make it mandatory for all votes to present a Voters Registration Card in order to vote.
? Amend the Elections Act, 2019 Section 93 to give precedent to data in the electronic voter database over the hard copy Register of Voters.
? Conduct the Advance Polls the day before General Elections at the polling stations in the Districts.
? Begin voting in the Advance Polls at 7.00 a.m. and end at 4.00 p.m.
? Amend the Elections Act, Section 60, Advance Polls to include:
? Fire and Rescue Officers
? Medical Technologists
? Prison Officers
? Amend the Elections Act to articulate the role of the Deputy Supervisor of Elections.
? Amend the Elections Act, Sections 65(14) and 64(11) to provide for a charge for a demand of an electronic recount and a charge ten times more for a demand of a manual recount.
? Amend the Elections Act to prohibit the use of cell phones at Polling Stations.
? Amend the Elections Act, Section 81 to take into consideration Advance Polling Day in clarifying when physical campaigning and broadcasting on media should cease.
? Explore the possibility of online nomination of candidates and/or reduce the hours for nomination of candidates.
? Increase the remuneration for election officers in line with the demands of the Elections Act, 2019, as amended.
? Clarify the role of police officers on Advance Polls and General Elections Day in order to eliminate allegations of canvassing/campaigning by candidates and agents within the 100 yards limit.
Reprint of recommendations from the 2015 report:
? Priority should be given to the redrawing of the electoral boundaries which have not been changed since they were first drawn in 1972. Changes in Anguilla’s demography (expansion of residential areas and patterns of settlement) have created a situation where there are large disparities in the distribution of registered voters among the seven electoral districts. This situation is not good for our democracy, and I recommend that a redrawing of the boundaries should be undertaken before the next general election constitutionally due in 2025.
? The elections law should be amended to:
- regulate party campaign finance. Such regulation should include the requirement for public disclosure of contributors to, and recipients of, election campaign expenses in addition to providing other controls and checks.
- Section 28 of the Elections Act should be amended to include time frames for the Court to act expeditiously and give priority to appeals from the Supervisor of Elections, especially in an election year.
- The Elections Act should be amended to ensure that objections to the preliminary list of voters are not allowed within 30 days of the date of polling.
