The ballot-counting process used in Antigua and Barbuda’s general elections is expected to undergo a change in the future.
Recently-appointed Supervisor of Elections, Ian S Hughes believes that the process can be streamlined to allow election results to be announced sooner.
He referenced the average timeframe in which results are announced in other Caribbean countries, which no longer transport ballot boxes to a central polling station for counting.
“In other countries within our region, the ballots are counted where the vote is cast, which is at that particular polling station, and so the results are received at least an hour within the close of the poll,” he told Observer recently.
Hughes mentioned that this method of counting ballots was utilized in the 2018 referendum.
“…The referendum did not speak to the votes being counted by the returning officer, and so we tried it then and it worked. By eight o’ clock that evening, all of the votes and so on were counted,” he stated
In order for Antigua and Barbuda to adopt this process for general elections, Parliament will have to adjust relevant legislation.
In addition, the suggestion of a move towards electronic voting was addressed by him.
“That’s something we would have to study. We would have to have some discussions with the public, some town halls, some consultations. Political parties of course will have to be part of that particular process,” Hughes added
Antigua and Barbuda, and St Kitts are the only countries in the region where the law mandates the movement of ballot boxes to a central location for counting by the returning officer, according to Hughes.
On July 28, Ian S Hughes was voted as the new Supervisor of Elections, garnering support from both political sides in Parliament. He was later officially appointed on August 9, upon the Senate’s approval of the resolution.
His elevation to the position filled the vacancy which resulted from Dame Lorna Simon’s retirement, after the 2023 January general elections. Simon contributed over 40 years to the Electoral Commission.
Prior to Hughes’ appointment, he worked with the Electoral Commission for almost two decades. His first duty as Supervisor of Elections will be to supervise the upcoming by-election due in the St Mary’s South constituency.
