New voter ID card, re-registration now in focus

A team from the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, led by newly
appointed Chairman, Arthur Thomas, held discussions on Wednesday with the
Cabinet on the issue of new ID Cards for voters as well as re-registration of all
voters.
“ABEC reported that a meeting was held with officials of the main opposition
political party who expressed a preference for re-registration. While the process of
renewal or re-registration is likely to be very much the same, the re-registration
will require documentation by the elector to prove residency and edibility,”
according to the Cabinet Notes.
It said the Cabinet agreed that intervention by the parliament will very likely be
required since large sums of money would have to be voted on to purchase new
blank cards and new equipment since the existing equipment from 2014 is now 10
years old.
The Cabinet also examined the issue of boundary changes for the 16 constituencies
in Antigua.  It was agreed that boundaries changes, if they are to achieve greater
equality among the constituencies, they must take place following re-registration
and the known number of electors in each constituency. The two major political
parties are therefore in agreement on the way forward.
The ABEC team also included the Deputy Chairman, Eugene Francis, the
Supervisor of Elections, Ian Hughes and three other officials of the commission.