The 2020 district general election and, for the first time, the large voting in Anguilla at the same time, moved a step closer to reality on Tuesday night, July 23, when the much-debated Elections Act was passed in the House of Assembly.
The vote, administered separately to individual members by the Clerk of the House, at the request of the Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Palmavon Webster, was carried by six elected members on the Government side and the Second Nominated member who voted yes. There was one nay (by the Leader of the Opposition) and one abstention by the Deputy Governor, one of the two Ex-Officio Members.
The other Ex-Officio Member, the (Attorney General), was earlier in the House, but was not present at the time of voting for the passage of the Bill. The First Nominated Member, Mr. Jose Vanterpool, performed the role of Deputy Speaker in the absence of the substantive Speaker, Mr. Terry Harrigan. Also absent was Mr. Evans Rogers, the Government’s Elected Member for District 3.
The draft Bill, for the Elections Act, was presented at town hall consultations before it was taken to the House where, as on other occasions, it was criticised by the Leader of the Opposition who called for its withdrawal. Ms. Webster claimed that the legislation involved “cherry-picking” – covering only some provisions in favour of the Government. “When I look at the electoral system proper and the gaps that are required to be addressed – and having gone through the process undertaken by the Select Committee – I can tell you that I am not satisfied that we are serving our people well,” she told the Speaker.
The Bill was piloted through the House of Assembly by the Elected Member for District 2, Mrs. Cora Richardson Hodge, in her capacity as Minister of Home Affairs responsible for Constitutional and Electoral Reform. She was supported by her colleagues.
“The Bill, for the Elections Act, seeks to implement several of the recommendations of the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee in relation to electoral reform,” the Minister explained. “It addresses issues related to the administration of the Central Electoral Office, continuous registration, appeals to the High Court, voter registration cards, fixed date elections, advanced polls, election offences, and creates the number of elected representatives. Overall, the Bill improves on the clarity of the existing legislation which should make administration easier.”
Addressing some of the claims by the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister stated: “In terms of the cherry-picking, that the Leader of the Opposition is speaking about, this is not in relation to the Bill that is currently before the House. There is no cherry-picking. There is no portion of the Elections Bill that is not here. It is the Elections Bill in its entirety that is before the House.”
She went on: “What the Leader of the Opposition may be speaking about is – would be aspects of the Constitution that were approved beforehand while we were going through with the balance of the constitutional changes.
“I just wanted to bring clarity because the impression that the Leader of the Opposition is giving is that the current Bill before the House has been picked apart – and only pieces are coming – which is inaccurate. In fact, the Elections Bill, as it stands, is the entirety of the draft document that was presented to the United Front Government by the Constitutional and Election Reform Committee. There are amendments that were made but the reality is was the draft document that was used as the basis for this Bill that is here today.”
