More opposition to Barbudans voting in Antigua

Bruce Goodwin, former deputy chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC), is the latest official to disagree with a decision by the commission mandating Barbudans  vote in Antigua on March 21.
Weeks ago, the commission led by Nathaniel “Paddy” James, chairman, issued a statement indicating that eligible voters registered for the constituency of Barbuda would be required to vote in Antigua because of the “prevailing circumstances” on the hurricane-hit island.
Goodwin, who was once head of ABEC, under the United Progressive Party (UPP’s) tenure, described the process as illegal and a slap to the faces of Barbudans.
He also stated firmly that it is a manipulation of the Barbudan electorate.
“I think one of the objectives of it is to ensure that only a small number of Barbudans are able to vote in Antigua, where they can be influenced.  I think it is a naked manipulation of the Barbudan electorate,” Goodwin said.
He was speaking during a recent interview at a forum in which he was named the 12th candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (DNA).
Goodwin is hoping to contest the St. John’s City East Constituency and is expected to come up against the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party’s incumbent, Melford Nicholas, and Harold Lovell, the political leader of the United Progressive Party.
Last month, Trevor Walker, leader of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) applied to the High Court for an interim injunction to prevent Barbudans from voting in Antigua.
The application for the injunction is to be heard in the High Court early this week.
Charlesworth Tabor, the attorney-at-law for the leader of the Barbuda People’s Movement, gave that confirmation over the weekend.
He said that on Friday, he was notified that the matter would come up on Tuesday, March 6 at 2 p.m.
The devastation wreaked by Hurricane Irma in September resulted in the destruction of some 90 percent of the island’s infrastructure, and the evacuation of its 1,600-plus residents. A two-year-old child was the lone fatality.