Astaphan Threatens Action over Allegations of Names Removal from Voters List
Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan threatens legal action over allegations of names removal from voters list. Astaphan is a top adviser to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. He said there will be legal consequences if it is true that Chief Elections Officer Ian Michael Anthony has tampered with the voters list in any way. He said he will do anything within the ambit of the law to “stop this madness from happening.”
While it is true that the oppositions have been calling for the voters list to be cleaned before the upcoming general elections, Astaphan said this can only be done after legal objection and a full hearing which should lead to determination of the issue at hand before any voters’ cleanup can be done.
He disclosed that a number of persons brought this to his attention, alleging that the Chief Elections Officer “decided to remove from [the names of voters] from the voters list, without notice of the objection, without a hearing and without notification of the decision.”
The senior counsel pointed out that no one has the power to remove the names of people from the voters list without following due process. He said the High Courts and the Court of Appeals in OECS countries established regulations which must be followed concerning removal or reinstatement of electors’ names on voters list.
“More importantly the court of appeal has said you cannot remove persons from the voters list without a full hearing of the objection, the reasons and the decision,” Astaphan said. “If what I am hearing is true that the Chief Elections Officer is removing persons from the list without a hearing following an objection, this is going to lead to litigation; this is going to lead to chaos and this is going to lead to the corruption of the system.”
He stated that if his office confirms the facts to be true, then he will obtain approval from the prime minister to “institute promptly, immediately and urgently, an application for an injunction to…stop this madness from happening.”
In his reaction, Hillary Shillingford, an executive member of the Dominica Electoral Commission, said Ian Michael Anthony as the Chief Elections Officer has the legal authority to cleanse the voters register. Shillingford said the CEO is a very upright person who is well versed in Law and fully understands the requirements of the electoral system and the appropriate laws that apply to its modification.
This article is copyright © 2019 DOM767
