No one – not even PM Browne – will dilute the democratic process to influence Barbuda elections, MP Walker declares
Trevor Walker, MP for Barbuda, says that Prime Minister Gaston Browne is attempting to dilute the voting process on the sister island.
On the weekend, PM Browne gleefully announced that Walker is on his way out, since the Antiguans working on Barbuda will be registered there and will not be voting for Walker.
However, the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) Leader says his Party has been closely monitoring the voters list and the daily registration to ensure it is in keeping with the law.
Based on the BPM’s vigilance, Walker says, the situation on Barbuda is quite normal, at present, and he sees nothing to support the Prime Minister’s claims.
“At the end of the day, [no one], including the Prime Minister and members of the Labour Party, [will] dilute the democratic process in Barbuda to a point that it tilts the balance of power in a particular way,” Walker declares.
According to the law, legal residents are allowed to register to vote at age 18. However, to qualify to vote in any constituency, a person must be an ordinary resident in that constituency for six months.
Based on this requirement, Walker says, persons cannot just rent a house and then, two months following, decide to get registered to vote in that constituency.
The Barbuda seat has proven difficult for the Antigua Labour Party over these years. While it captured the seat in 2014 when Arthur Nibbs ran on its ticket, he was unable to retain it in the elections of 2018.
This time, Browne says he is confident that, with Antiguans voting on Barbuda, Senator Knacyntar Nedd will ensure a Labour Party victory on the sister-island.
