By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterTHE ELECTORAL Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has secured a US$500,000 ($28 million) contract to assist in organising the electoral system of Antigua and Barbuda.
With just about 52,000 people comprising the two-island electorate, the EOJ has already begun working with the Electoral Commission of Antigua and Barbuda (ECOAB) on the country's voter registration process.
"The contract was signed on Friday (April 25) and we started working on Saturday," Neville Graham, public relations officer for the EOJ, told The Gleaner yesterday. He explained that the EOJ would be transferring some of its technology and collecting demographic data, fingerprints and photographs. The EOJ will also train ECOAB workers, as well as collaborate with the Antiguan commission on public education programmes.
Also, the EOJ will assist in the setting up of 52 registration centres throughout the two islands.
Pointing out that Jamaica, which provided facilities for about 1.3 million potential voters in its 2002 General Election, had only 68 registration centres islandwide, Mr. Graham explained that the ECOAB is seeking to have its registration centres (called units) as close to each 'village' as possible.
BEST LIST EVER
Speaking at the contract signing, which took place at the offices of the ECOAB in St. John's, Antigua, Danville Walker, Jamaica's Director of Elections, said: "We are determined to make sure that this is the best list that Antigua and Barbuda ever had." He urged Antiguans to ensure the transparency of the system and to maintain a commitment to "best processes".
The EOJ, which conducted, last October, what has been deemed by many to be one of the cleanest elections in Jamaica's modern history, is hoping to build on the venture being undertaken in the Leeward Islands. According to Mr. Graham, the EOJ, which conducts elections for a number of entities locally, is happy for the opportunity to hone its capabilities.
