EBC says it’s ready for January 19 poll

We are ready. That’s the declaration made by Supervisor of Election Angela Taylor in response to growing concerns that Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s unexpected announcement of the January 19 General Election had caught many, including the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC), unprepared.

During a press conference hosted by the EBC this morning to give an update on its election preparedness, Taylor said that their elections preparations are “on point”. In fact, she disclosed that the EBC usually begins preparing for General Elections two and a half years after the last one.

“So we had already started our preparations, we have just accelerated. I can assure you our team of election workers are in place. The list of returning officers and election clerks would have been published yesterday, so that is available for all to see. As the chairman said, we are doing the training of that cadre … today and we are ready for nomination day (January 3). We have a team of persons working this weekend and we will have all the bags packed with all the supplies needed for the candidates to be nominated at the centres. The list of nomination centres has also been published,” she said.

Taylor noted that the only difference between preparations for these general elections and previous ones was the ongoing challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, she was confident that measures taken to ensure the compliance of COVID-19 protocols on both nomination and polling days will be effective. She said to make certain of this, the COVID- 19 Monitoring Unit had developed a document to outline protocols, which the Commission is expected to observe as it carries out its election activities. According to Taylor, these protocols lay out the EBC meetings with the political parties, the media, the procedures on nomination day, special polling day, general polling day, the night of the count as well as information for the conduct of political meetings and other political activities.

“So we do have the protocols before us and we will be training our staff to be familiar with everything that they have to put in place. On this occasion we have a separate team for COVID- 19 matters so that we have enough persons at the polling stations to take the temperatures, to sanitise the hands of voters, to ensure that voters are social distancing, to sanitise the polling booth after persons have voted. We will be training that staff as well but we do wish to assure the public that we have made every provision for ensuring that the COVID-19 protocols are complied with,” Taylor said.

In terms of accommodating the estimated 514 polling stations for social distancing, Taylor said they had reduced the numbers of persons attending each polling station at a single time. And she asked for the cooperation of voters in the endeavour. 

So, whereas, persons who are working would usually flock in their numbers at the stations early in the morning or in the evening after work, she encouraged them to instead vote during their lunch hours to avoid bottlenecks. This was a sentiment echoed by chairman of the EBC, Leslie Haynes who implored employers to exercise some lenience and allow their employees a little extra time during their lunch hours.

“Someone might be working in St Michael and they might have to go to St James, let them take the time and vote so as to minimize the COVID-19 risk. It may take an hour and a half, it may take two hours, so be it, it is only one day of the year,” Haynes said.

Taylor also indicated that as customary in every general election, elderly citizens will be fast-tracked [and] in some cases a separate line may also be created for them to get them in and out as quickly and safely as possible. (KC)