Supervisor of Elections Raises Eyebrows with Statements on Voter Eligibility and Displacement Issues
Allegations regarding voters in the Southern Grenadines being disenfranchised ahead of the 2025 elections in St Vincent and the Grenadines have surfaced. The main opposition party, NDP, is set to convene a press conference today to discuss recent developments which they say is troubling, particularly within the context of democratic principles.
On Wednesday morning, the island’s talk shows were primarily characterised by extensive discussions.
An interview featuring the Supervisor of Elections, Dora James, on SVG TV seems to have sparked the ensuing controversy.
In the interview, James stated that the electoral office has faced challenges in registering voters in the Southern Grenadines, particularly after many residents were displaced by Hurricane Beryl in 2024.
However, James’s statement that new registrants will need to decide where they want to vote, as they must have lived in the same location for six consecutive months before being eligible to vote there, has caused anger among citizens.
James noted that some Union Island residents may face difficulty meeting this requirement due to displacement, as many have been residing on the mainland.
“So if they came to the mainland and then they went back, they hear that we are coming down and they want registration, It can’t work like that, especially if you’re new; if you’re re-registering, that’s a different case. If you’re new, and you want to register on the island, you must be there for six months straight. And it doesn’t make any sense. You lie because if you lie on your registration, there is a penalty”.
“If you’re on the mainland and you do six months, you can register in that constituency when you go back to the islands, and you have six months, and you wish to do your transfer, then you can transfer back to the original constituency”, James stated.
