Opposition party says names of voters removed from voters’ list despite court ruling

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Oct 28, CMC – The main opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) has accused the Supervisor of Elections, Elvin Bailey of removing the names of Nigerian students as well as other Commonwealth citizens despite a High Court ruling.
The party said that in May, then Resident Judge Justice Marlene Carter ruled that an attempt by supporters of the ruling Team Unity government to remove two Nigerian students and all Commonwealth citizens from the Register of Voters was “an abuse of process of the court”
She said then that the High Court does not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the registration process in the manner sought by the supporters..
In denying the application, Justice Carter referred to the ruling of Justice Ian Mitchell in the Nevis case, Mark Brantley vs Joseph Parry, in which Mitchell emphasised the importance of the notice provision with regard to objections of persons’ names on the Register of Voters and its vital function in the projection of the right to vote.
“The Supervisor of Elections has been removing the names of persons from the list without any reasons being given and without any publication of the names of the persons who have been removed,” the party said.
It said that it is just not only the names of Nigerian and African students being removed from the voters’ list, but also the names of citizens without any reason given and publication of the names of the persons removed, in defiance of the High Court ruling.
“This is a very dangerous practice which has been going on since the change of government in mid-February 2015,” the SKNLP said, indicating that it intends to challenge the removal in the High Court.
Last week, the opposition Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) threatened to take legal action against the Bailey and the Electoral Commission over what it said was apparent clandestine attempts to disenfranchise voters.
Bailey has not responded to any of the accusations made by the two parties.