No clarity yet on whether some non-nationals can vote

The verdict is still out on whether or not non-nationals residing in Barbados will be able to vote on General Election day next Thursday.

An emergency hearing, convened before Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson, in Court No. 6 of the Supreme Court, was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. but at 11:50, it was yet to get underway. 

It has been reported that while all major parties have assembled in the courtroom, Chief Electoral Officer Angela Taylor and counsel Larry Smith have been delayed. 

Following a special sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice last Sunday, St Lucian-born academic, Professor Eddy Ventose was added as a registered voter to the electoral list by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC).

Additionally,Grenadian Shireene Ann Mathlin-Tulloch, Jamaican Michelle Melissa Russell and Montserratian Sharon Juliet Edgecombe-Miller, who brought a class action suit against the EBC late last year have also been added.

However, other CARICOM residents, who qualify under Sections 7 and 11 of the Representation of the People Act and who filled out the requisite Form 1, are yet to see their names on the voter’s list. (RA)