PUSH FOR PURGE

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) says it will again make a request from the Government for funding to carry out the long-awaited electoral reverification exercise next year.

Director of Elections Glasspole Brown told The Gleaner on Friday that the price tag to conduct a full reverification of the voters’ list is $9 billion.

However, he said the EOJ will request half of the sum in fiscal year 2027-28 and the balance in the subsequent financial year of 2028-29.

At a meeting of the Human Resources and Social Development Committee (HRSDC) of Parliament earlier this week, Chairman Duane Smith highlighted the urgent need for the voters’ list to be cleaned up.

The committee has started deliberations on five private members’ motions moved earlier this year by St Catherine South Western Member of Parliament (MP) Everald Warmington to amend certain provisions of the Representation of the People Act (ROPA).

In addition, Warmington called on the Government to immediately provide funding for the EOJ to undertake a complete reverification of the voters’ list in Jamaica.

Smith argued that while the cleaning of the voters’ list is costly, it is a necessary exercise because of the misinformation being bandied about in the public domain about low voter turnout.

“The voter turnout statistics that are always bandied about after an election are not accurate because every elected member here will tell you when they go through their voters’ lists, they see their grandma on the list of blessed memory. We see people who migrated 10, 20 years ago still on the list. So, we’re not getting an accurate number,” he argued.

Smith challenged the accuracy of the list, contending that political pundits and the media often speak about poor voter turnout, when, arguably, about 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the names currently on it are of persons who have either died or migrated.

REDUCTION IN REGISTERED VOTERS

A total of 15,161 electors were removed from the last national voters’ list published on May 31, 2026, while 13,882 new electors have been added. As a result, the total number of registered electors now stands at 2,090,343, indicating a reduction in the number of registered voters. This represents a net decrease of 1,279 electors compared with the 2,091,622 names published on the voters’ list in December 2025.

The EOJ said it was able to remove a significant number of electors mainly due to information provided by the Office of the Registrar-General along with other sources and stakeholders.

The next list will be published at the end of this month.

In his motion, Warmington said a partial reverification of the voters’ list was done more than 15 years ago.

The St Catherine South Western MP contended that the current list contains an inflated number of names.

Meanwhile, the committee is preparing to give stakeholders another opportunity to make submissions on the private members’ motions now being considered.

The committee placed advertisements in local newspapers and on social media platforms through Parliament earlier this year. The deadline has long since passed, but, to date, the committee has not received any feedback from stakeholders or members of the public.

Manchester Central MP Rhoda Crawford urged the committee to issue another invitation for people to make submissions on the motions.

She said electoral issues that determine who forms the Government should undergo robust deliberations involving key stakeholders.

The committee is also reviewing a recommendation that Section 33 of the ROPA be amended to extend voting hours by one hour. Under the current law, polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. All eligible voters in line at 5 p.m. should be allowed to exercise their franchise.

The EOJ will be invited to appear before the committee to make submissions on the proposed changes.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com