Governor’s Statement On By-Election Location
Governor Rena Lalgie issued a statement related to the location for the upcoming by-election.
Governor Rena Lalgie said, “On 22 August 2024 following advice from the Parliamentary Registrar, I, as Governor, issued a Writ of Election which appointed Allen Temple AME Church Hall [Sandys] to be the election room for the bye-election for Constituency 36 to take place on 4th October 2024. Today, 19th September was appointed as the Nomination Day.
“The Allen Temple AME Church Hall met the criteria for election rooms as set out in 27[6] of the Parliamentary Election Act 1978. At that time, neither the Parliamentary Registrar nor the Governor had access to any information that would have given rise to any concerns about the neutrality or fairness of that venue.
“The Leader of the Opposition has made public that he wrote to me on 11 September to object to the election room given the nature and degree of the association with one of the individuals who had at that point indicated their intent to stand. Since then, I have received legal advice and sought feedback from the individuals who, prior to Nomination Day, publicly indicated their intention to stand and therefore have unquestionable standing. More generally, I have carefully considered the objection.
“The Parliamentary Election Act 1978 explicitly states in Section 27A [1] that the Governor can, in a narrow and specific set of circumstances, between the date of the Writ and Polling Day, cancel the polling day and appoint another day. In the event that another polling day has been appointed and the Governor is of the opinion that the election room will not be available for the purposes of the election, the Governor may appoint a substitute election room under 27A [7] of the Act.
“However, I have been advised that the Parliamentary Registrar has no power to nominate an election room; and once the Writ of Election has been issued, the Governor does not have an explicit power to change the election room, in the circumstances such as we find ourselves in.
“I have today written to the Leader of the Opposition to state that I have no explicit legislative authority to intervene.
“Section 47 of the Parliamentary Act 1978 does specify that it is an offence for the premises above, below, adjacent to and within the same curtilage of the election room to be used for the purposes of a Committee Room, i.e. a room used for the purposes of a political party or other association of persons interested or concerned in promoting the election of any candidate nominated in any parliamentary election.
“Regardless of the merits of any concerns or objections, it is my view that a Governor being seen to interfere in the election process in circumstances where they do not have an explicit legal power is less than ideal.
“However, I believe that it is incumbent on those that hold and who aspire to hold high public office to do everything within their power to adhere not just to the letter of the legislation but also to uphold the principles and values that underpin elections in a parliamentary democracy and I trust that this will be the case in this instance.”
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