Electoral chief confirms ballot books, staff, security ready 

Barbados’ electoral machinery is on full alert and ready to swing into action on Wednesday with 271 205 eligible voters on the final list, authorities revealed late Monday.

Elections and Boundaries Commission staff were completing the checking off of ballot books, said Chief Electoral Officer Sherland Turton.

“We have our books ready, every constituency returning officer would have checked the books to ensure that they were okay, properly sequenced in numbers. So, we are ready,” Turton told Barbados TODAY in an update of their preparations for the poll.

“All of our personnel are in place, locations identified, security in place. We are ready.”

Asked for an update about complaints of names not on the register, the chief electoral officer acknowledged that the issue exists but insisted that people were afforded multiple opportunities to check the list and be registered long before the final document was completed on Friday.

Turton said: “I know of persons who might not be on the list for whatever reason. I wouldn’t say that their names are missing. Remember, I would have said before that persons had the opportunity to view the list on more than one occasion, more than six months ago; and they could have reported whatever was wrong and have it rectified, if they would have seen something incorrect. We are getting calls, but the list is final, and we don’t recall a list… at this stage.”

Four political parties and 11 independents are contesting the poll.

The two major parties – the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) – are the only ones competing for all 30 seats in the House of Assembly.

The People’s Coalition for Progress – an alliance of three parties – is fielding ten candidates, while the other party, Friends of Democracy, is running hopefuls in 11 constituencies.