Two persons were unable to vote due to an apparent glitch with the electronic voter identification and ballot issuing system (EVIBIS) during the local government elections on Wednesday, according to Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE).

The election watch-dog group told journalists at its post-local government elections press briefing, held yesterday at Campion College in St. Andrew, that the non-recognition of voters by the EVIBIS was observed as one of the glitches with the system that identifies electors by fingerprints.

After the press briefing, Fabian Brown of CAFFE told The Gleaner that the incident occurred in the Tower Hill division of the West Central St. Andrew constituency.

Fingerprints not identified

Mr. Brown said the voters were not issued a ballot, as their fingerprints were not identified by the EVIBIS the electors' information was in the 'Black Book', th electronic identification system.

"The machine was not identifying the person, the 'Black Book' was present and the observer reported that the person's information was in the 'Black Book' but the voters were not allowed to vote," said Mr. Brown, noting that the report would be passed on to the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ).

Director of Elections Danville Walker said the incident, when brought to his attention, would be investigated to determine why the electors were denied from voting.

"This is the first I am hearing it," said Mr. Walker.

"Someone not being identified by the system doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Maybe the person was taken off the system as they may have been an election-day worker or police/military personnel who had already voted," he added.

Low turnout

CAFFE echoed the EOJ that the local government elections experienced a low level of involvement by the electorate.

Dr. Lloyd Barnett of CAFFE told those present at the press briefing that the low voter figures reported might reflect the impact of the atmosphere of violence, intimidation and a general disenchantment with politics.

Father Jim Webb of the organisation noted that the political violence that preceded the elections might have been a factor in the low turnout.

"This indicates that there is still room for improvement (with regards to political democracy in the country)," said Father Webb.

Some 400 CAFFE observers were present at polling stations across the country.