Hughes details changes to polling stations in several constituencies ahead of Wednesday’s General Election

With General Elections set for tomorrow, January 18, there have been several changes regarding polling stations, according to Ian Hughes, the human resource and training officer with the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC). 

Hughes says that, this time around, the number of polling stations has increased to 188. He explains that changes had to be made, since some of the locations used as polling stations during the 2018 elections are no longer available.

Among the locations in which the polling stations have been changed is St. John’s Rural South.

St. John’s Rural North is another constituency where changes have been made to the polling stations.  Instead of using the pre-school or the Adelin Clinic, which is no longer available, voting for Polling Division A – for surnames ranging from F to Z – will be done at the Wesleyan Junior Academy on Fort Road.

Hughes says that surnames from A to E – in the same polling division – will be done at the Yorks Community Centre.  For Polling Division B, voting will take place at the Cedar Grove Primary School.

According to Hughes, changes have also been made to the polling stations in All Saints West and All Saints East and St Luke.

In the St. George constituency, persons who are accustomed to vote in Polling Division C will be doing so at the Sir Novelle Richards Academy, as well as the Potters Primary School.

Hughes notes that the ballot boxes in this constituency have increased.  Additionally, he says, surnames are no longer broken down, but are in strict alphabetical order.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, January 15, officers from ABEC met with delegations from those organizations which will be observing the 2023 General Election.

Representatives from the Commission facilitated questions from the election observers, who reportedly also shared preliminary feedback based on their missions, to date.

Several teams are on the ground ahead of polling day tomorrow. They include the Commonwealth Observer Mission and a team from the Organisation of American States (OAS).